f 



n 



WOODFALL'S JUNIUS. 



THE 



LETTERS OF JUNIUS 



FROM 



THE LATEST LONDON EDITION 

[UJUMtA- 



8TAT NOMINTJS UMBRA. 



TWO VOLS. IN ONE 



NEW YORK: 

JOHN W. LOVELL, PUBLISHER, 

Xos. 14 AND 16 AsTOR Place. 
1880. 



VA 



SIFT 
VICTOR 8. ct„, 

™* "MAOV OF C0NGBK8 






CONTENTS. 



Page 

Dedication to the English Nation - - - J 
jpreface - - - - - - - -11 

Letter I. Junius to the Printer of the Public Adveniser 25 

II. Sir William Draper's answer - - 37 

III. Junius to sir William Draper - - 42 

IV. Sir William Draper to Junius - - - 48 
V. To sir William Draper - - " - - 55 

VI. To Junius from sir William Draper - - 57 

VII. To sir William Draper - - - - 59 
\ III. To the duke of Grafton - - - - 62 

IX. To the duke of Grafton - - - - 68 

X. To Mr. Edward Weston - - . - 72 

XI. To the duke of Grafton - . - - 74 

XII. To the duke of Grafton - - - - 79 

XIII. Philo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 89 

XIV. Philo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 91 
XV. To the duke of Grafton - - - 96 

XVI. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser 103 

XVII. Philo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 109 

XVIII. To sir William Blackstone - - -113 

XIX. Pliilo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 1J9 

XX. To the Printer of the PubHc Advertiser - 128 

XXI. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 138 

XXII. Philo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 140 

XXIII. Junius to the duke of Bedford - - - 144 

XXIV. Sir William Draper to Junius - - - 156 
XXV. Junius to sir WiUiam Draper - - - 159 

XXVI. Sir William Draper to Junius - - - 162 

XXVII. Junius to the Printer of the Public Advertiser UiS 

XXVIII. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 173 

XXIX. Philo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 174 

XXX. Junius to the Printer of the Public Advertiser 179 

XXXI. Philo Junius to the Printer of the Pub. Adv. 186 

XXXIT. Junius to the Printer of the Public Advertiser 19C 

XXXIII. To the duke of Grafton - - . 192 

XXXIV To the duke of Grafton ... 19. 

XXXV To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - If 



DEDICATION 



TO TMK 



ENGLISH NATION, 



1 DEDICATE to you a collection of letters, written by 
one of yourselves, for tlie common benefit of us all . l^liey 
wouk' never have grown to this size without your continued 
encouragement and applause. To nie they originally owe 
nothing but a healthy, sanguine constitution. Under youl 
care they have thriven : to you they are indebted for what- 
ever strength or beauty they possess. Wlien kings and 
ministers are forgotten, when the force and direction of 
personal satire is no longer understood, and wlien measures 
are only felt in their remotest consequences ; this book will, 
I believe, be found to contain principles worthy to be trans- 
mitted to posterity. When you leave the unimpaired heredi- 
tary freehold to your children, you do but half your duty. 
lioth liberty and property are precarious, unless the po*- 
sessors have sense and spirit enough to defend them. 
This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain man, 
my gratification lies within a narrow circle. I am the sole 
depository of my own secret, and it shall perish with me. 

If an honest, and, I may truly affirm, a laborious zeal foi 
the public service, has given me any weight in your esteem 



tri DEDICAIION. 

let me exhort and conjure you, never to suffer an invasioA 
of your political constitution, however minute the instance 
may appear, to pass by, without a determined persevering 
resistance. One precedent creates another. They soon 
accumulate, and constitute law. What yesterday was fact, 
to-day is doctrine. Examples are supposed to justify the 
most dangerous measures ; and where they do not suit 
exactly, the defect is supplied by analogy. Be assured, that 
the laws, which protect us in our civil rights, grow out of 
the constitution, and they must fall or flourish with it. 
This is not the cause of faction, or of party, or of any indi- 
vidual, but the common interest of every ma,n in Britain. 
Although the king should continue to support his present 
Bj'^stein of government, the period is not very distant at 
which you will have the means of redress in your own 
power ; it may be neai-er, perhaps, than any of us expect ; 
and I would warn you to be prepared for it. The king 
may possibly be advised to dissolve the present parliament 
a year or two before it expires of course, and precipitate a 
new election, in hopes of taking the nation by surprise. If 
such a measure be in agitation, this very caution may defeat 
or prevent it. 

I cannot doubt that you will unanimously assert the 
freedom of election, and vindicate your exclusive right 
to choose your representatives. But other questions have 
been started, on which your determination should be 
equally clear and unanimous. I^t it be impressed upon 
your minds, .et it be instilled into your children, that 
the liberty of the pi ess is the palladium of all the civil, 
political, and religious rights of an Englishman ; and that 
the right of juries to return a general verdict, in all cases 
whatsoever, is an essential part of our constitution, not to 
be controlled or limited by the judges, nor in any shape 
questionable by the legislature Th< pov r of king, lords, 



DEDICATION. vB 

and commons, is not an arbitrary power :* tney are the 
trustees, not the owners, of the estate Tlie fee-simple is 
In us : they cannot alienfite, they cannot waste. Wliei* 
we say tliat the legislature is supreme, we mean, that it 
is the highest power known to the constitution ; that it 
is the highest, in comparison with the other subordinate 
powers, established by tlie laws. In tills sense, the word 
supreme is lelative, not absolute. The power of the 
legislature is limited, not only by the general rules of na« 
tural justice, and the welfare of the community, but by 
the forms and principles of our particular constitution. 
If this doctrine be not true, we must admit that king, 
lords, and commons, have no rule to direct their resolu- 
tions, but merely their own will and pleasure : they might 
unite the legislative and executive power in the same 
hands, and dissolve the constitution by an act of parlia- 
ment. But I am persuaded you will not leave it to the 
choice o( seven hundred persons, notoriously corrupted by 

* The positive denial of an arbitrary power being vested 
in the legislature, is not, in fact, a new doctrine. When 
the earl of Lindsay, in the year lG75, brought in a bill 
into the house of lords, " To prevent the dangers 
which might arise from persons disaffected to govern- 
ment," by which an oath and penalty was to be imposed 
upon the members of botli houses ; it was affirmed, in a 
protest, signed by twenty-three hiy peers, (my lords the 
bishops were not accustomed to proteijt,) " That the pri- 
vilege of sitting and voting in parliament was an honour 
they had by birth, and a right so inherent in them, and 
inseparable from them, that nothing could take it away, 
but what, by the law of tiie land, must withal talce away 
their lives, and corrupt their blood." These noble peers, 
whose names are a reproacii to their posterity, have, ic 
this instance, solemnly denied the power of parliameni 
to alter the constitution. Under a jjarlicuiar proposition, 
they have asserted a general truth, in which e\ey man i« 
England is con *erned. 



vfii DEDICATION. 

the crown, whether seven mU ions of their equals shal be 
free men or slaves. The certainty of loi felting their own 
rights, when they sacrifice those o!" the iialion, is no check 
to a brutal, degenerate mind. Without insisting upon 
the extravagant concession made to Harry the Eighth, 
there are instances, in the history of other countries, of a 
formal, deliberate surrender of the public liberty into the 
hands of the sovereign If England does not share the 
same fate, it is because we have better resources than in 
the virtue of either house of parliament. 

I said, that the liberty of the nress is the palladium o/ 
uU your rights, and that the right of the juries to return 
a general verdict, is part of your constitution. To pre- 
serve the whole system, you must correct your legislature. 
With regard to any influence of the constituent over the 
conduct of the representative, there is little difference 
between a seat in parliament for seven years and a seat for 
life. The prospect of your resentment is too remote ; and, 
ilthough the last session of a septennial parliament be 
usually employed in courting the favour of the people ; 
consider, that at this rate, your representatives have six 
years for offence, and but one for atonement. A death- 
bed repentance seldom reaches to restitution. If you re- 
flect, that, in the changes of achninistration which have 
marked- and disj^rated the j)resent reign, although youi 
warmest patriots iiave, in thoir turn, been invested with tiit 
lawful and unlawful authority of the crown, and though 
other reliefs or improvements have been held forth to the 
people, yet that no one man in office has ever promoted or 
encouraged a bill tor shortening the duration of parlia^^ 
ments, but that (whoever was minister) the opposition to 
this measure, ever since the septennial act passed, has been 
constant and uniform on the part of government — ^you 
rannot but conclude, without the possibility of a doubt, 
that long parliaments are the ibundation of the undue in- 



DEDICATION. 1% 

fliience of the crown. This influence answers every ;iur- 
pose of arbitiary power to the cro\vn, with an expense 
and oppression to the people, which would be unnecessary 
in an arbitrary government. The best of our ministers 
fino it the easiest and most compendious mode of conduct- 
ing the king's affairs ; and all ministers have a general 
interest in adhering to a system, which, of itself, is suffi- 
cient to support them in office, without any assistance 
I'rom personal virtue, popularity, labour, abilities, or ex- 
perience. It promises every gratili cation to avarice and 
iunbiiion, and secures impunity. These rre truths un- 
questionable : if they make no injpression, it is because 
they are too vulgar and notorious. But the inattention 
or indifference of the nation has continued too long. You 
are roused at last to a sense of your danger : the remedy 
will soon be in your power. If Junius lives, you shall 
often be reminded of it. If, when the opportunity pre 
sents itself, you neglect to do your duty to yourselves and 
to posterity, to God and to your country, I shall have one 
consolation left, in common with the meanest and basest o 
mankind ; Civil iberty may still last the life of 

JUNIUS. 
At 



PREFACE. 



THE encouragement given to a multitude of sf uilous, 

nriangled publications of the " Letters of Junius," per- 
suades me, that a complete edition, corrected and improved 
by the author, will be favourably received. The printer 
will readily acquit me of any view to my own profit. I 
undertake this troublesome task merely to serve a man who 
has deserved well of me and of the public ; and who, on 
my account, has been exposed to au expensive, tyrarmlcal 
prosecution. For these re-wsons, I give to Mr. Henry Samp- 
son Woodfall, and to him alone, my right, interest, and 
property, m tliese letters, as fully and completely, to all 
intents and purposes, as an author can possibly convey his 
property in his own works to another. 

This edition contains all the letters of Junius, Philo 
Junius, and of Sir William Draper and Mr. Home to 
Junius, with their respective dates, and according to the 
arder in which they appeared in the Public Advertiser. 
The auxiliary part of Philo Junius was indispensably nece»" 
sary to defend or exjjlain particular passages in Junius, in 
answer to plausible objections ; but the subordinate char- 
acter is never guilty of the indecorum of praising his prin- 
cipal. The fraud was innocent, and I always intended to 
explain it. The notes will be found not only use 'ill but 
Wicessary. References to facts not generally kn: v n, o^ 



xii PREFACE. 

ftllusions to tlie c irrent report or opinion of the day, are, 
\n a little? time, unintelligible: yet the reader will not find 
himself overloaded with explanations : I was not born to Un 
a commentator, even upon my own works. 

h remains to say a few words upon the liberty of the 
press. The daring spirit by which these letters are sup- 
posed to be distinguisJied, sf»ems to require that some- 
thing serious should be said m their defence. I am no 
lawyer by profession, nor do I pretend to be more deeply 
read than every EngUsh gentleman should be, in the laws 
of his country. If, therefore, the principles I maintain are 
truly constitutional, I shall not think myself answered, 
though I should be convicted of a mistake in terms, or of 
misapplying the Hnguage of the law. I speak to the plain 
understanding of (he people, and appeal to their honest, 
iberal construction of me. 

Good men, to whom alone I address myself, appear to 
me to consult their piety as little as their judgment nnd 
experience, when they admit the great and essential advan- 
tages accruing to society from the freedom of the press, yet 
indulge themselves in peevish or passionate exclamations 
against the abuses of it. Beu lying an unreasonable ex- 
pectation of benefits, pure and entire from any human 
institution, they, in effect, anargn the goodness of Provi- 
dence, and confess that they are dissatisfied with the com- 
mon lot of humanity. In the present instance, they really 
create to their own minds, or greatly exaggerate the evil 
they complain of. The laws of England provide as effer 
tually as any human laws can do for the protection of th* 
gubject, in his reputation, as well as in his person and pro- 
perty. If the characters of private men are insulted oi 
injured, a double remedy is open to them by action and in« 
dictment : if, through indolence, false shame, or indiffer- 
ence, the} will not appeal to the laws of their country, 
they fail in their duty to society, and are unjust to them 



PREFACE. xin 

selves : if, from an unwarrantable distrust of the integrity 
of juries, they would wish to obtain justice by any mode of 
proceeding more summary than a trial by their peers, I do 
not scruple to affirm, that they are in effect, greater enemies 
to themselves than to the libeller they prosecute. 

With regard to strictures upon the characters of men in 
office, and the measures of government, the case is a little 
dilTerent. A considerable latitude must be allowed in the 
discussion of public affairs, or the liberty of the press will 
be of no benefit to society. As the indulgence of private 
malice and personal slander should he checked and resisted 
by every legal means, so a constant examination into the 
characters and conduct of ministers and magistrates should 
be equally promoted and encouraged. They who conceive 
that our newspapers are no restraint upon bad men, or im- 
pediment to the execution of bad measures, know nothing 
of this country. In that state of abandoned servility and 
prostitution, to which the undue influence of the crown has 
reduced the other branches of the legislatui-e, our ministers 
;iiid magistrates have, in reality, little punishment to fear, 
and few difficulties to contend with, beyond the censure o( 
tiie press, and the spirit of resistance which it excites among 
llie people. While this censorial power is mamtained, (to 
speak in the words of a most ingenious foreigner) both mi- 
nister and magistrate are compelled, in almost every in- 
stance to choose between his duty and his reputation. A 
dilemma of this kind perpetually before him, will not, 
indeed work a miracle on his heart, but it will assuredly 
operate, in some degree, upon his conduct. At all events, 
these are not times to admit of any relaxation in the little 
discipline we have left. 

But it is alleged, that the licentiousness of the press is 
carried beyond all bounds of decency and truth ; that our 
excellent ministers are continua ly exposed to the public 
halrec or derision; that in proscc uions for libels on govern 



wv PREFACE. 

ment, juries are partial to the popular siile ; and thii , in 
the most flagrant cases, a verdict cannot be obtained for the 
king. If the premises were admitted, I should deny the 
conclusioi! Tt is not true that the temper of the times has 
in general an undue influence over the conduct of juries • 
on the contrary, many signal instances may be produced of 
verdicts returned for the king, when the inchnations of the 
people led strongly to an undistinguished opposition to go- 
vernment. Witness the cases of Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Almon. 
In the late prosecution of the printers of my address to a 
great personage, the juries were never fairly dealt with. 
Lord chief justice Mansfield, conscious that the paper in 
question contained no treasonable or libellous matter, and 
that the severest parts of it, however painful to the king oi 
offensive to his servants, were strictly true, would fain have 
restricted the jury to the finding of special facts, which, as 
to guilty or not guilty, were merely indiflerent. This par- 
ticular motive, combined with his general purpose to con 
iract the power of juries, will account for the charge he 
delivered in Woodfall's trial. He told the jury, in so many 
words, that they had nothing to determine, except the fact 
of printing and publishing, and whether or no the blanks or 
inuen Joes were properly filled up in the information ; but 
that, whether the defendant had committed a crime or not, 
was no matter of consideration to twelve men, who yet, 
upon their oaths, were tc pronounce their peer guilty or 
not guilty. When we hear such nonsense delivered from 
the bench, and find it supported by a laboured train of «>• 
phistry, which a plain understanding is unable to follow, and 
which an unlearned jury, however it may shock their rea- 
son, cannot be supposed qualified to refute, can it be won- 
dered that they sliould return a verdict perplexed, absurd, 
or imperfect ? Lord Mansfield has not yet explained to the 
world, why he accepted of a verdict which the court after- 
«rards set aside as illegal ; and wlii ;h, as it took no notice oi 



I'REFACL. x« 

Aw inuendoes, did not even corres{>uiid with his cnvn charge. 
If he had known his duty, he should have sent the jury 
back. I speak advisedly, and am well assured, that nc 
lawyer of character, in Westminster-hall, will contradict 
Mie. To show the falsehood of lord Mansfield's doctrine, 
it is not necessary to enter into the merits of the paper 
which produced the trial. If every line of it were treason, 
his charge to the jury would still be false, absurd, illegal, 
and unconstitutional. If I stated the merits of my letter to 
the king, I should imitate lord Mansfield, and travel* out of 



* The foIK)wiiig quotation from a speech delivereil by 
lord Chatham, on the llth of December, 1770, is taken 
with exactness. The reader will find it curious in itself, 
and very fit to bf inserted here. " My lords, the verdict 
^iven in VVoodfall's trial was, ' guilty of printing and pub- 
lishing only;' upon which two motions were made in court; 
one, in arrest of judgment, by the defendant's counsel, 
grounded upon the ambiguity of the verdict ; the other, by 
the counsel for the crown, tor a rule upon the defendant, 
to show cause why the verdict should not be entered up 
according to the legal import of the words. On both mo- 
tions a rule was granted ; and soon after the matter was 
argued before the court of king's bench. The noble judge, 
when he delivered the opinion of tlie court upon the ver- 
dict, went regularly through the whole of the proceedings 
at Nisi Prius, as well the evidence that had been givers, us 
his own charge to the jury. This proceeding would have 
been very proper, had a motion been made on e ther side 
for a new trial ; because either a verdict given contraiy to 
evidence, or an improper cliarge by the judge at Nisi Prius, 
is held to be a sufficient ground for granting a new trial. 
But when a motion is made iu arrest of judgment, or for 
establishing the verdict, by entering it up according to the 
legal import of the words, it must be on tlie ground of 
something appearing on the face of the record ; and the 
court, in considering wlie1h< r the verdict shall be estab- 
lished or not, arc so confined to tlie record, that they can- 
not take notice of any thing that does not appear on the 



«vi PREFACE. 

the rtconl. When law ^nd reason speak plainly, we do not 
want authority to direct our understandings. Yet, (or the 
honour of the profession, I am content to oi)posc one lawyer 
to another ; especially when it happens that the kings it- 
torney-general has virtually disclaimed the doctrine by 
which the chief justice meant to ensure success to the pro- 
secution. The ojjinion of the plantiff's counsel (however 
it may be otherwise insignificant) is weighty in the scale o/ 
the defendant. My lord chief justice de Grey, who filed 
the information ex officio, is directly with me. If he had 
coacurred in lord Mansfield's doctrine, the trial must have 
been a very short one. The facts were either admitted by 
Woodfall's counsel, or easily proved to the satisfaction of 
the jury ; but Mr. de Grey, far from thinking he should 
acquit himself of his duty, by barely proving the facts, 
entered largely, and I confess, not without ability, into 
the demerits of tb'^ iper, which he called a seditious hbel. 
He dwelt but lightly upon those points which (according to 
lord Mansfield) were the only matter of consideration to the 
jury. The criminal intc^nt the libellous matter, the perni- 
cious tendenc}' of the paper itself, were the topics on which 
lip principally insisted, and of which, for more than an hour, 
he tortured his faculties to convince the jury. If he agreed 
in opinion with lord Mansfield, his discourse was imperti- 
nent, ridiculous, and unreasonable. But understanding the 
law as I do, what he said was at least consistent, and to the 
purpose. 

face of it ; in the legal phrase, they cannot travel out of the 
record. The noble judge did travel out of the record; 
and I affirm, that his discourse was irregular, extrajudicial 
and unprecedented. His apparent motive for doing what 
he knew *D be wrong, was that he might have an opportu- 
rity of telling the public extrajudicially, that the other 
three judges concurred in the doctrine laid down in his 
charge." 



PREFACE. xvH 

If any honest man should still be inclined to leave the 
construction of libels to the court, I would entreat him to 
consider what a dreadful complication of hardsliips he im- 
poses upon his fellow subjects. In the first place, the pro- 
secution commences by information of an officer of the 
crown, not by the regular constitutional mode of indict 
ment before a grand jury. As the fact is usually admitted, 
or, in general can easily be proved, the office of the petty 
jury is nugatory : the court then judges of the nature and 
extent of the offence, and determines, ad arbitrium, the 
quantum of the punishment, from a small fine to a heavy 
one, to repeated whipping, to pillory, and unhmited impri- 
sonment. Cutting off ears and noses might still be inflicted 
by a resolute judge : but I will be candid enough to suppose 
that penalties, so apparently shocking to humanity, would 
not be hazarded in these times. In all other criminal pri>- 
secutions the jury decides upon the fact and the crime in 
one word, and the court pronounces a certain sentence^ 
which is the sentence of the law, not of the judge. If lord 
Mansfield's doctrine be received, the jury must either find a 
•verdict of acquittal, contrary to evidence, which, I can con- 
ceive, might be done by very conscientious men, rather 
than trust a fellow-creature to lord Mansfield's mercy ; 
or they must leave to the court two rflfices, never but 
iu tills instance united, of finding guilty, and awarding 
punishment. 

"But," says this honest lord chief justice, "if the paper 
be not criminal, the defendant (though found guilty by his 
peers) is in no danger, for he may move the court in arrest 
of judgment." True, my good lord ; but who is to determine 
upon the motion ? Is not the court still to decide, whether 
judgment shall be entered up or not? and is not the de- 
fendant this way as effectually deprived oi judgment by lu3 
peers, as if he were tried in a court of civil law, or in the 
chambers of tha inquisition ? It is you, my lord, who then 



xviO PREFACE. 

try the crime, not the jury. As to the inofaable effect (rf 
the motion in arr»^st of judgment, I shall only observe, that 
no reasonable man would be so eager to possess himself of 
the invidious power of inflicting punishment, if he were nv 
predetermined to make use of it. 

Agafn, we are told that judge and jury have Ji distinc 
ofiice ; that the jury is to find the fact, and the judge to 
deliver the law. " De jure respondent judices, de facto 
jurati." The dictum is true, though not in the sense given 
to it by lord Mansfield. The jury are undoubtedly to de- 
termine the fact ; that is, whether the defendant did or 
did not commit the crime charged against him. The 
judge pronounces the sentence annexed by law to that fact 
»o found ; and if, in the course of the trial, any question 
iif law arises, both the counsel and the jury must, of necessi- 
ty, appeal to the judge, and leave it to his decision. An 
exception, or plea in bar, may be allowed by the court ; but, 
when issue is joined, and the jury have received their 
charge, it is not possible, in the nature of things, for them 
to separate the law from the fact, unless they think pro{)er 
lo retiu'n a special verdict. 

It has also been alleged, that, although a common jury 
are sufficient to determine a plain matter of fact, they are 
not qualified to comprehend the meaning, or to judge of 
the tendency of a seditious libel. In answer to this objec- 
tion (which, if well founded, would prove nothing as lo the 
strict right of returning a general verdict) I might safely 
deny the truth of this assertion. EngLshroen, of that rank 
from which juries are usually taken, are not so illiterate as 
(to serve a particular purpose) they are now represented: 
or, admitting the fact, let a special jury be Bummoncd in 
all cases of difficulty and importance, and the objection is 
removed. But the truth is, that it a paper, supposed to be 
a libel upon government, be so obscurely worded, that 
twelve common men cannot possibly see the seditious 



PREFACE. JUJi 

mednibL' and tendency of it, it is in effect no libel. It caiv 
not inllame the minds of the people, nor alienate theii 
aflections from government ; for they no more undersiand 
what it means, than if it were published in a language un- 
known to them. 

Upon the whole matter, it appears, to my understanding, 
cletT, beyond a doubt, that, if, in any future prosecutioi 
for a seditious libel, the jury should bring in a verdict ol 
acquittal, not warranted by the evidence, it will be owing 
to the false and absurd doctrines laid down by lord INlans- 
field. Disgusted at the odious artifices made use of by the 
judge to mislead and perplex them, guarded against his 
sophistry, and convinced of the falsehood of his assertions, 
they may, perhaps, determine to thwart his detestable pur 
pose, and defeat him at any rate. To him, at least, they 
will do substantial justice. Whereas, if the whole charge 
laid in the information be fairly and honestly submitted to 
the jury, there is no reason whatsoever to presume that 
twelve men, upon their oaths, will not decide impartially 
between the king and the defendant. Thf numerous in 
si-mces, in our state trials, of verdicts recovered for the 
king, sufficiently refute the false and scandalous imputa- 
tions thrown, by the abettors of lord Mansfield, upon 
tlie integi-ity of juries. But, even admitting the supposi- 
tion, that, in times of universal discontent, arising from 
the notorious mal-administration of public affairs, a sedi- 
tious writer should escape punishment, it makes nothing 
against my general argument. If juries are fallible, to 
what other tribunal shall we appeal ' If juries cannot 
safely be trusted, shall v/e unite the offices of judge and 
jury, so wisely divided by the constitution, and trust im- 
plicitly to lord Mansfield ? Are the judges of the court of 
king's bench more likely to be unbiassed and impartial 
than t'.velve yeomen, burgesses, or gentlemen, taken iiidif- 
f*»renMv from the country H.* large r Or, in short, shall 



XX PREFACE 

diere be no decision, until we havu instituted a uibuna^ 
from which no possible abuse or inconvenience whatsoevei 
can arise ? If I am not grossly mistaken, these questions 
carry a decisive answer along with them. 

Having cleared the freedom of the press from a re- 
straint equally unnecessary and illegal, I return to the 
use which has been made of it in the present publication. 

National reflections, I confess, are not justified in theory, 
nor upon any general principles. To know how well they 
are deserved, and how justly they have been applied, we 
must have the evidence of facts before us. We must be con- 
versant with the Scots in private life, and observe their 
principles of acting to us and to each other : the character- 
istic prudence, the selfish nationality, the indefatigable 
smile, the persevering assiduity, the everlasting professli.n 
of a discreet and moderate resentment. If the instance 
were not too important for an experiment, it might not be 
amiss to confide a little in their integrity. Without any 
abstract reasoning upon causes and effects, we shall soon be 
convinced, by experience, that the Scots, transplanted from 
their own country, are always a distinct and separate body 
from the people who receive them. In other settlements, 
they only love themselves : in England they cordially love 
themselves, and as cordially hate their neighbours. For 
the remainder of their good qualities I must appeal to the 
reader's observation, unless he will accept of my lord Bai- 
rington's authority in a letter to the late lord Melcombe, 
published by Mr. Lee : he expresses himself with a truth 
and accuracy not very common in his lordship's lucubrations. 
*• And Cockburn, like most of his countrymen, is as abject 
to those above him, as he is insolent to tliose below him." 
I am far from meaning to impeach the articles of the union. 
If the true spirit of those articles were religiously adhered 
to, we should not sea such a multitude of Scotch commoners 
n the lower house, as repics utatives o*' Li.^iis!i boroughs, 



PREFACE. XA 

irhile not a single Scotch boroug*^ is ever represented by an 
Englishman : we should not see English peerages given to 
Stoich ladies, or to the elder sons of Scotch peers, and the 
number of sixteen doubled and trebled by a scandalous eva- 
sion of the act of union. If it shou'd ever be thought 
adviseable to dissolvf' an act, the violation or observance of 
which is invariably directed by the advantage and interest 
of tlie Scots, I shall say very sincerely, with Sir Edwiu-d 
Coke,* " VV^lien poor England stood alone, and had not 
the access of another kingdom, and yet had more and as 
potent enemies as it now hath, yet the king of England 
prevailed." 

Some opinion may now be expected from me, upon a 
point of equal delicacy to the writer, and hazard to the 
priater. When the character of the chief magistrate is in 
ijuestion, more must be understood than may be safely ex- 
pressed, [f it be really a part of our constitution, and not 
A mere dictum of the la,(^, tliat the king can do no wrong, 
it is not the only instance, in the wisest of human institu- 
tions, where theory is at variance with practice. That the 
sovereign of this country is not amenable to any form of 
trial known to the laws, is unquestionable : but exemption 
from punishment is a singular privilege annexed to the 
royal character, and no way excludes the possibility of de- 
serving it. How long, and to what extent, a king of Eng- 
land may be protected by the forms, when he violates the 
spirit of the constitution, deserves to be considered. A 
mistake in this matter proved fatal to Charles and his son. 
For ray own part, far from thinking that the king can do 
nc wrong, far from suffering myself to be deterred or im- 
posed upon by the language of forms, in opposition to the 
lubgtantial evidence of truth ; if it were my misfortune to 



• Pailiamentary History, vol. ii. p. 400. 



xxii PREFACE. 

live under the inauspicious reign of a priace, whose ichote 
life was employed in one base, contemptible struggle with 
the free spirit of his people, or in the detestable endeavour 
to corrupt their moral principles, I would not scruple to 
declare to him, '• Sir, you alone are the author of the gieat- 
est wrong to your subjects and to yourself. Instead of 
reigning in the hearts of your people, instead of commanding 
their lives and fortunes through the medium of their affec- 
tions J has not the strength of the crown, whether influence 
or prerogative, been uniformly exerted, for eleven years 
together, to support a narrow, pitiful system of government 
which defeats itself, and answers no one purpose of real 
power, profit, or personal satisfaction to you ? With the 
greatest unappropriated revenue of any' prince in Europe- 
have we not seen you reduced to such vile and sordid dis, 
tresses, as would have conducted any other man to a prison ? 
With a great military, and the greatest naval power in the 
known world, have not foreign nations repeatedly insulted 
you with impunity ? Is it not notorious that the vast reve- 
nues, extorted from the labour and industry of your sub- 
jects, and given you to do honour to yourself and to the 
nation, are dissipated in corrupting their representatives ? 
Are you a prince of the house of Hanover, and do you ex- 
clude all the leading Whig families from your councils ? 
Do you profess to govern according to law, and is it consis- 
tent with that profession to impart your confidence and af- 
fection to those men only who, though now, perhaps, 
detached from the desperate cause of the pretender, are 
marked in this country by an hereditary attachment to high 
and arbitrary principles of government ? Are you so infatu- 
ated as to take the sense of your people from the representa- 
tion rf ministers, or from the shouts of a mob, notoriously 
hired to surround your coach, or stationed at a theatre ? 
And if you are, in reality, that public man, that king, tha< 
magistrate, which these questions suppose you lo be, is it 



PREFACE. xxiir 

any answer to *o<n people, t<> say. thai among yoiii 
domostics you are gooil-liiimouivd, that to one hitly you 
are faitliful, that to jour children you ure indulgent ? 
Sir, the n>an who addresses you in these terms, is your best 
friend : he would willingly hazard his life in defence of 
your title to the crown ; and, if power be your object, will 
&till show you how possible it is for a king of England, by 
the noblest means, to be the most absolute prince in Europe. 
You have no enemies, sir, but those who persuade you t * 
aim at power without right, and who think it flattery to tell 
) >u, that the character of king dissolves the natural relatiou 
between guilt and punishment." 

1 cannot conceive that there is a heart so callous, or an 
understanding so depraved, as to attend to a discourse of 
this nature, and not to feel the force of it. But where is 
the man, among those who have access to the closet, reso- 
lute and honest enough to deliver it ? The liberty of the 
jjress is our only resource : it will command an audience 
when every honest man in the kingdom is excluded. This 
glorious privilege may be a security to the king as well a? 
a resource to his people. Had there been no star-chamber, 
there would have been no rebellion against Charles th». 
First. The constant censure and admonition of the pres"? 
would have corrected his conduct, prevented a civil war, 
anJ saved him from an ignominious death. I am no friend 
to the doctrine of precedents, exclusive of right; though 
lawyers often tell us, that whatever has beefa once done 
may lawfully be done again. I shall conclude this Preface 
with a quotation applicable to the subject, from a foreign 
writer,* whose Essay on the English Constitution I beg leave 
to recommend to the public, as a performance deep, solid, 
and ingenious. 



• Monsi^ir de Lolme 



MW PREFACE. 

" In short, whoever considers what it is that co4>stitute« 
the moving principle of wlsat we call great affairSj and the 
invincible sensibility ol" man to the opinion of his fellow- 
creatures, will not hesitate to affirm, that if it were possible 
for the liberty of the press to exist in a despotic govern- 
mt-nt, and (what is not less difficult) for it to exist without 
changing the constitution, this liberty of the press would 
alone form a counterpoise to the power of the prince. If, 
for example, in an empire of the East, a sanctuary could be 
found, which, rendered respectable by the ancient religion 
of the people, might insure safety to those who should bring 
thither their observations of any kind ; and that, from 
thence, printed papers should issue, which, under a certain 
seal, might be equally respected, and which, in their daily 
appearance, shouUl examine and freely discuss the conduct 
of the cadis, the bashaws, the vizir, the divan, and the »iil- 
iHii himself; that would introduce uiiojediatey some de 
pr«e of bbf rty.'* 



LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 



LETTER I. 



Addressed to the Printer of the Public Adverttset . 

SIR, January 21, 1769. 

The submission of a free people to the executive 
authority of government, is no more than a com- 
pliance with laws which they themselves havt 
enacted. While the national honour is firmly main- 
tained abroad, and while justice is impartially ad- 
ministered at liome, the obedience of the subject wil 
be voluntary, cheerful, and, I might almost say, un- 
limited. A generous nation is grateful even for the 
preservation of its rights, and willingly extends the 
respect due to the office of a good prince into an 
afleciion for his person. Loyalty, in tie heart an«l 
undv^rstanding of an Englishman, is a rational at 
tachment to the guardian of the laws. Prejudices 
and passion have sometimes carried it to a criminal 
length, and, whatever foreigners may imagine, wp 
Know tnat Englishmen have erred os much in a n\W 



26 JLNIUS'S LETTERS. 

taken teal lor particular persons and famil.es, ai 
ihey ever did in defe ice of what they thought most 
dear and interesting to themselves. 

It naturally fills us with resentment, to see such a 
temper insulted and abused. In reading the history 
of a free people, whose rights have been invaded, we 
are interested in their cause. Our own feelings tell 
us how long they ought to have submitted, and af 
what moment it would have been treachery to them- 
selves not to have resisted. How much warmer wiK 
be our resentment, if experience should bring the 
fatal example home to ourselves ! 

The situation of this country is alarming enougli 
to rouse tlie attention of every man who pretends to 
a concern for the public welfare. Appearances jus- 
tify suspicion ; and when the safety of a nation is at 
stake, suspicion is a just ground of inquiry. Let us 
enter into it with candour and decency. Respect is 
due to the station of ministers ; and, if a resolution 
must at last be taken, there is none so likely to be 
supported with firmness, as that which has been adopt- 
ed with moderation. 

The ruin or prosperity of a state depends so much 
npon the administration of its government, that, to 
be acquainted with the merit of a ministry, we need 
only observe the condition of the people. If we see 
them obedient to the laws, prosperous in their indus- 
try, united at home, and respected abroad, we may 
reasonably presume that their affairs are conducted 
by men of experience, abilities, and virtue. If, on 
the contrary, we see an universal spirit of distrust and 
dissatisfaction, a rapid decay of trade, dissensions in 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 27 

«11 parts of llie empire, and a total loss of respect m 
the eyes of foreign powers, we may pronounce, with- 
out hesitation, that the government of that country i? 
weak, distracted, and corrupt. The multitude, in all 
countries, are patient to a certain point. Ill usage 
may rouse their indignation, and hurry them intc 
excesses; but the original fault is in government 
Perhaps there ne' v was an instance of a change in 
the circumstances nd temper of a whole nation so 
sudden and extrao "nary as that which the miscon- 
duct of ministers .s, within these few years, pro- 
duced in Great Brit) •:. When our gracious sove- 
reign ascended the throne, we were a flourishing and 
a contented people. If the personal virtues of a king 
could have insured the happiness of his subjects, the 
scene could not have altered so entirely as it has done. 
The idea of uniting all parties, of trying all charac- 
ters, and distributing the offices of state by rotation, 
was gracious and benevolent to an extreme, though 
it has not yet produced the many salutary effects 
which were intended by it. To say nothing of the 
wisdom of such a plan, it undoubtedly arose from an 
unbounded goodness of heart, in which folly had no 
share. It was not a capricious partiality to new 
faces ; it was not a natural turn for low intrigue ; noi 
was it the treacherous amuseinent of double and triple 
negotiations. No, sir, it arose from a contijmed 
anxiety, in the purest of all possible hearts, for the 
general welfare. Unfortunately for us, the event has 
not been answerable to the design. After a rapid 
succession of changes, we are reduced to that state 
which hardly any change can mend. Yet there is na 



28 JUNIUS'S .^ETTERS. 

cxtiemity of distress, which, of itself, ought to reduce 
a great nation to despair. It is not the disorder, but 
the physician : it is not a casual concurrence of ca- 
lamitous circumstances ; it is the pernicious hand ol 
government which alone can make a whole peoph 
desperate. 

Without much political sagacity, or any extraor 
dinary depth of observation, we need only mark how 
the principal departments of the state are bestowed, 
and look no farther for the true cause of every mis- 
chief that befalls us. 

The * finances of a nation, sinking under its debts 
and expenses, are committed to a young nobleman, 
already ruined by play. Introduced to act under the 
auspices of lord Chatham, and left at the head of 
affairs by that nobleman's retreat, he became minister 
by accident : but deserting the principles and profes- 
sions which gave him a moment's popularity, we see 
him from every honourable engagement to the public, 
an apostatt by design. As for business, the world 
yet knows nothing of his talents or resolution ; unless 
a wayward, wavering inconsistency be a mark of 



• The duke of Grafton took the office of secretary of 
state, witli an engagement to support the marquis of Rock- 
ingham's administration, lie resigned, however, in a little 
time, under pretence that lie could not act without lord 
Chatham, nor bear to see Mr. Wilkes abandoned ; but that 
under lord Chatliam he would act in any office. This was 
the signal of lord Rockingham's dismission. When lord 
Chatham came in, the duke got possession of the treasury 
Reader, mark the consequence ! 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 29 

genius, and caprice u demonstration of spirit. It 
may be said, j)erhaps, that it is his grace's province, 
as surely it is his passion, rather to distribute than to 
save the public money; and that while lord North is 
chancellor of the exchequer, the first lord of the trea- 
sury may be as thoughtless and extravagant as he 
pleases. I hope, however, he will not rely too much 
on the fertility of lord North's genius for finance : his 
lordship is yet to give us the first proof of his abili- 
ties. It may be candid to suppose that he has hitherto 
»'oluntarily concealed his talents ; intending, perhaps, 
to astonish the world, when we least expect it, with a 
knowledge of trade, a choice of expedients, and a 
depth of resources, equal to the necessities, and far 
beyond the hopes of his country. He must now exert 
the whole power of his capacity, if he would wish us 
to forget, that, since he has been in office, no plan has 
been formed, no system adhered to, nor any one im- 
portant measure adopted for the relief of public credit. 
If his plan for the service of the current year be not 
irrevocably fixed on, let me warn him to think seri- 
ously of consequences, before he ventures to increase 
the public debt. Outraged and oppressed as we are. 
this nation will not bear, after a six years' peace, to 
see new millions borrowed, without an eventual dimi- 
nution of debt, or reduction of interest. The attempJ 
might rouse a spirit of resentment which might reach 
beyond the sacrifice of a minister. As to the debt 
upon the civil list, the people of England expect that 
it will not be paid without a strict inquiry how it was 
nuurred. If it must be paid by parliament, let me 
advise the chancellor of the exchcqi.ci to think of 



30 JUNILS'S LETTERS. 

some better expedient tlian a lottery. To support &a 
expensive war, or in circumstances of absolute neces- 
sity, a lottery may, perhaps, be allowable; but, be- 
sides tliat it is at all times the very worst way oi 
raising money upon the people, I think it ill becomes 
the royal dignity to have the debts of a king provided 
for, like the repairs of a country bridge, or a decayed 
hospital. The management of the king's affairi, m 
the house of commons, cannot be more dlsg/njed 
than it has been. A leading minister* repeatedly 
called down for absolute ignorance, ridiculoui mo- 
tions ridiculously withdrawn, deliberate plans discon- 
certed, and a week's preparation of graceful oratory 
lost in a moment, give us some, though not adequate 
ideas, of lord North's parliamentary abilities and in- 
fluence. Yet, before he had the m.isfortune of being 
chancellor of the exchequer, he was neither an object 
of derision to his enemies, nor of melancholy pity to 
his friends. 

A series of inconsistent measures has alienated the 
colonies from their duty as subjects, and from their 
natural affection to their common country. When 
Mr. Grenville was placed at the head of the treasury, 
he felt the impossibility of Great Britain's supporting 
such an establishment, as her former successes had 
made indispensable, and at the same time of givnig 
any sensible relief to foreign trade, and to the weight 
of the public debt. He thought it equitable, that 
those parts of he empire which had benefited most by 

• This happened frequently to poor lord North. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 31 

ihe exjjenses of the war, should contribute something 
to the expenses of the peace, and he had no doubt of 
the constitutional right vested in parliament to raise 
the contribution. But, unfortunately for his country, 
Mr. Grenville was at any rate to be distressed, because 
he was minister ; and Mr. Pitt* and lord Camden 
sv(;re to be the patrons of America, because they were 
in opposition. Their declaration gave spirit and ar- 
gument to the colonies; and while, perhaps, they 
meant no more than the ruin of a minister, they, 
in effect, divided one half of the empire from the 
other. 

Under one administration the stamp-act is made ; 
under the second it is repealed ; under the third, in 
spile of all experience, a new mode of taxing the colo- 
nies is invented, and a question revived which ought 
to have been buried in oblivion. In these circum- 
stances a new office is established for the business ol 
the plantations, and the earl of Hillsborough called 
forth, at a most critical season, to govern America. 
The choice, at least, announced to us a man of su- 
perior capacity and knowledge. Whether he be so 
or not, let his despatches, as far as they have appear- 
ed, let liis measures, as ar as they have operated, 
determine for him. In the former we have seen strong 
assertions without proof, declamation without argu- 
ment, and violent censures without dignity or mode- 
ration ; but neither correctness in the composition, 
nor j idgmentiu the design. As for his measures, lei 

• Yet JudIus has been called the panisan of lord Chatham ' 



32 JUNILS'S LETTERS. 

It be remembered, that he was called upon to conciliate 
and unite ; and tiiat, when he entered into office, the 
most refractory of the colonies were still disposed to 
proceed by the constitutional methods of petition and 
remonstrance. Since that period they have be^n 
driven into excesses little short of rebellion. Peti- 
tions have been hindered from reaching the throne; 
and the continuance of one of the principal assem- 
blies rested upon an arbitrary condition,* which, con- 
sidering the temper they were in, it was impossible 
they should comply with; and which would have 
availed nothing as to the general question, if it had 
been complied with. So violent, and, 1 believe, I 
may call it, so unconstitutional, an exertion of the 
prerogative, to say nothing of the weak, injudicious 
terms in which it was conveyed, gives us as humble 
an opinion of his lordship's capacity, as it does of his 
temper and moderation. While we are at peace with 
other nations, our military force may, perhaps, be 
spared to support the earl of Hillsborough's measures 
in America. Whenever that force shall be necessa 
rily withdrawn or diminished, the dismission of such 
a minister will neither console us for his imprudence, 
nor remove the settled resentment of a people, who, 
complaining of an act of the legislature, are outraged 
by an unwarrantable stretch of prerogative ; and, 
su})porting their claims by argument, are insulted 
with diclamation. 



* That they sboiild retract one of their resolutions, a; i 
erase the eatrv of it. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 33 

Drawing lots would be a prudent and reasonable 
method of appointing the officers of state, compared 
to a late disposition of the secretary's office. Lord 
Rochford was acquainted with the afiairs and temper 
of the southern courts; lord Weymouth was e(jiially 
qualitied for either department :* by what unaccount- 
able caprice has it happened, that the latter, wiio pre- 
tends to no experience whatsoever, is removed to the 
•nost important of the two departments ; and the for- 
mer, by preference, placed in an office where his ex- 
perience can be of no use to him ? Lord Weymouth 
had distinguished himself, in his first employment, 
by a spirited, if not judicious conduct. He had 
animated the civil niagistrate beyond the tone of civil 
authority, and had directed the operations of the army 
JO more than military execution. Recovered from 
uie errors of his youth, from the distraction of play, 
and the bewitching smiles of Burgundy, behold him 
exerting the whole strength of his clear, unclouded 
faculties in the service of the crown. It was not the 
heut of midnight excesses, nor ignorance of the laws, 
nor the furious spirit of the house of Bedford ; no, 
sir, when this respectable minister interposed his 
authority between the u^agistrate and the people, and 
signed the mandate, on which, for aught he knew, the 
lives of thousands depended, he did it from the de- 
liberate motion of his heart, supported by the best of 
his judgment. 

* It was pretended tftat the earl of Rochford, while am- 
bassador in France, had quarrelled with the duke of Choi- 
•eul ; and that, therefore, he was appointed to the northern 
department, out of compliment to the French minister. 



S4 JDNIUS'S LETTERS. 

It has latelv been a fashion to pay a compliment 
to the bravery and generosity of the conimander-ia- 
chief,* at the expense of his understandinff. They 
who love him least make no question of his courage; 
HJiile his friends dwell chielly on the facility of his 
disposition. Admitting hiin to be as brave as a total 
ihsence of all feeling and reflection can make him, let 
us see what sort of merit he derives from the remain- 
der of his tdiaracter. If it oe generosity to accumu- 
late, ill his own person and family, a number of lucra- 
tive employments; to provide, at the public expense, 
for every creature that bears the name of Manners ; 
vind, neglecting the merit and services of the rest oi 
the army, to heap promotions upon his favourites and 
flependents; the present commander-in-chief is the 
most generous man alive. Nature has been sparing of 
her gifts to this noble lord ; but where birth and for- 
tune are united, we expect the noble pride and inde- 
pendence of a man of spirit, not the servile humili- 
ating complaisance of a courtier. As to the good- 
ness of his heart, if a proof of it be taken from the 
facility of never refusing, what conclusion shall we 
draw from the indecency of never performing:* And 
if the discipline of the army be in any degree pre- 
served, what thanks are due to a man, whose cares, 
notoriously confined to filling up vacancies, have 
degraded the ofJlce of commander-in-chief, into a 
broker of commissions .'' 

With respect to the navy, I siiall o'.dy say, thai 
this country is so highly indebted to sir Edward 



• The late lord Graiil)v 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 3i 

Hawke, that no expense should be spared to secure 
to him an honom-able and affluent retreat. 

Tlie pure and impartial administration of justice 
IS, perhaps, the firmest bond to secure a cheerfu! 
submission of the people, and to engage their alfec- 
lions to government. It is not sufficient that ques- 
tions of private right or wrong are justly decided, 
nor that judges are superior to the vileness of pecu- 
niary corruption. Jelleries himself, when the court 
had no interest, was an uprigiit judge. A court of 
justice may be subject to another sort of bias, more 
imj)ortant and pernicious, as it reaches beyond the 
interest of individuals, and all'ects the whole com- 
munity. A judge, under the influence of govern- 
ment, may be honest enough in the decision of pri- 
vate causes, yet a traitor to the public. When a 
victim is marked out by the ministry, this judge 
will oiler himself to perform the sacritice : he will 
not scruple to prostitute his dignity, and betray the 
sanctity of his office, whenever an arbitrary point 
is to be carried for government, or the resentment 
of a court to be gratified. 

These principles and proceedings, odious and 
contemptible as the}' are, in effect are no less inju- 
dicious. A wise and generous people are roused by 
every appearance of oppressive, unconstitutional 
measures, whether those measures are supported 
only by the power of government, or masked under 
the forms of a court of justice. Prudence and self- 
preservation will oblige the most moderate disf)f)si- 
tions to make common cause even with a man 
nhose condict they censure, if they see him per- 
becuted in a way which the real spirit of the laws 



36 JLiNIUS'S LETTERS. 

will not justify. The facts on which these remarki 
are founded are too notoriv^us to require an ap- 
plication. 

This, sir, is the detail. In one view, behold a ua- 
tiou overwhelmed with debt ; her revenues wasted, 
her trade declining ; the affections of her colo- 
nies alienated ; the duty of the magistrate trans- 
ferred to the soldiery ; a gallant army, wliich never 
fought unwillingly but against their fellow- sul^jects, 
mouldering away for want of the direction of a 
man of common abilities and spirit ; and in the 
last instance, the administration of justice become 
odious and suspected to the whole body of the peo- 
ple. This deplorable scene admits of but one ad- 
dition ; that we are governed by counsels from 
which a reasonable man can expect no remedy but 
poison ; no relief but death. 

If, by the immediate interposition of Providence, 
it were possible for us to escape a crisis so full ol 
terror and despair, posterity will not believe the 
history of the present times. They will either con- 
clude that our distresses were imaginary, or thai 
we had tlte good fortune to be governed by men of 
acknowledged integrity and wisdom : they will not 
jelieve it possible, that their ancestors could have 
•iirvived or recovered from so desperate a condi- 
ton, while a duke of Grafton was prime minister, 
I lord North chancellor of the exchequer ; a Wey- 
Qouth and a Hillsborough secretaries of state ; a 
'iJranby commander-in-chief; and a Mansfield chief 
Eiiminal judge of the kingdom. 

JUNIUS 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. SI 

II. 

7'. the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, January 26, 1769. 

The kingdom swarms with such numbers of felo« 
nious robbers of private character and virtue, that 
no liouest or good man is safe ; especially as these 
cowardly, base assassins, stab in the dark, with- 
out having the courage to sign their real names 
to their malevolent and wicked productions. A 
writer, who signs himself Junius, in the Public 
Advertiser of the 2] st instant, opens the deplorable 
j'ituation of his country in a very atlecting manner. 
With a pompous parade of his candour and de- 
cency, he tells us that we see dissensions in all parts 
of the empue, an universal spirit of distrust and 
iissatisfaction, and a total loss of respect towards 
us in the eyes of foreign powers. But this writer, 
with all his boasted candour, has not told us the 
real cause of the evils he so pathetically enume- 
rates, i shall take the liberty to explain the cause 
for him. Junius, and such writers as himself, 
occasion all the mischief complained of, by falsely 
and maliciously traducing the best characters in the 
kingdom : for wlien our deluded people at home, 
and foreigners abroad, read the poisonous and in- 
flammatory libels that are daily published with 
impunity, to vilify those who are any way distiii- 
guished by their good qualities and eminent vir- 
tues; when they find no notice taken of, or reply 



38 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

given to these slanderous tongues and pens, their 
conclusion is, that both the ministers and the 
nation have been fairly described, and they act ac- 
cordingly. I think it, therefore, the dut}' of every 
g^od citizen to stand forth, and endeavour to un- 
deceive the public, when the vilest arts are made 
use of to defame and blacken the brightest char* 
acters among us. An eminent author affirms it to 
be almost as criminal to hear a worthy man tra- 
duced, without attempting his justification, as to 
be the author of the calumny against him. For my 
own part, I think it a sort of misprision of treason 
against society. No man, therefore, who knows 
lord Granby, can possibly hear so good and great a 
character most vilely abused, without a warm and 
just indignation against this Junius, this high- 
priest of envy, malice, and all uncharitablenesSj 
who has endeavoured to sacrifice our beloved com- 
mander-in-chief at tlie altars of his horrid deities. 
Nor is the injury done to his lordship alone, but 
to the whole nation, which may too soon feel the 
contempt, and consequently the attacks, of our late 
enemies, if they can be induced to believe that the 
person on whom the safety of these kingdoms so 
mucii depends, is unequal to h'n high station, and 
destitute of those qualities which form a good ge- 
neral. One would have thought that his lordship's 
services in the cause of his country, from the battle 
of CuUoden to his most glorious conclusion of the 
late war, might have entitled him to common re- 
spect and decency at least ; but this uncandid, inde- 
cent writer, has gone so far as to turn one of the 
most amiable men of the age into a stupid, unfeel 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 39 

•Qg, and senseless being possessed, .'ndeed. of a 
personal courage, but void of those essential qua- 
lities which distinguish the commander from the 
common soldier. 

A very long, uninterrupted, impartial, (I will add, 
a most disinterested) friendship, with lord Granby, 
gives me the right to affirm, that all Junius's asser- 
tions are false and scandalous. Lord Granby's 
courage, though of the brightest and inost ardent 
kind, is amongst the lowest of his numerous good 
qualities : he was formed to excel in war, by nature's 
liberality to his mind as well as person. Educated 
and instructed by his most noble father, ami a mo5« 
spirited as well as excellent scholar, the present 
bishop of Bangor, he was trained to the nicest senst 
of honour, and to the truest and noblest sort of pride, 
that of never doing or suffering a mean action. A 
sincere love and attachment to his king and country 
and to their glory, first impelled him to the field, 
where he never gained ought but honour. He im- 
paired, through his bounty, his own fortune ; for 
his bounty, which this writer would in vain depreciate, 
is founded upon the noblest of the human affections ; 
It flows from a heart melting to goodness ; from 
the most refined humanity. Can a man, who i? 
described as unfeeling and void of reflection hf 
constantly employed in seeking proper objects, on 
whom to exercise those glorious virtues of com- 
passion and generosity ? The distressed officer, the 
soldier, the widow, the orpb.an, and a long list 
besides, know that vaiiiiy has no share in his frequent 
donations ; he gives, because he feels their distresses. 
Nor has he ever been -apacious wilb one hand, to b? 



40 JUNIUS S LETT^:RS, 

oountiful with the other. Yet this uncandid Jaiiiua 
would insinuate, that the dignity of the commaoder- 
In-chief is depraved into the base office of a co:n- 
mission-broker ; that is, lord Granby bargains for 
the sale of commissions ; for it must have this mean- 
ing, il it has any at all. But where is the man 
Uving who can justly charge his lordship with such 
mean practices f Why does not Junius produce liini ■* 
Junius knows that he has no other means of wound- 
ing this hero, than from some missile weapon, shot 
from an obscure corner. He seeks, as all such 
defamatory writers do, 

spargere voces 



In vulgum ambiguas, 

to raise suspicion in the minds of the people. Bui 
i hope that my countrymen will be no longer irn • 
posed upon by artful and designing men, or \ty 
wretches, who, bankrupts in business, in fame, and 
in fortune, mean nothing more than to involve this 
country in the same common ruin with themselves. 
Hence it is, that they are constandy aiming their 
dark, and too often fatal, weapons against those who 
stand forth as the bulwark of our national safety. 
Lord Granby was too conspicuous a mark not to be 
their object. He is next attarked for being unfaithfu 
to his promises and engagements ? Where are 
Junius's proofs? Although I could give some in- 
stances where a breach of promise would be a virtue, 
especially in the case of those who would pervert the 
open unsuspecting moments of convivial mirth into 
sly insidious applications for preferment or party- 



JUPflUS'S LETTERS. 41 

lystenis ; and would endeavour to surprise a good 
nnan, \vl)o caMuot bear to see any one leave liiin 
dissatisfied, into unguarded promises. Lord Granby's 
attention to his own family and relations is celled 
selfish. Had he not attended to them, when fair and 
jusi opportunities presented themselves, I should have 
thought him unfeeling, and void of reflection indeed. 
How are any man's friends or relations to be pro- 
vided for, but from the influence and protection of 
the patron ? It is unfair to suppose that lord 
Granby's friends have not as much merit as the 
friends of any other great man. If he is generoua 
at the public expense, as Junius invidiously calls it, 
the public is at no more expense for his lordship's 
friends, than it would be if any other set of men 
possessed those offices. The charge is ridiculous. 

The last charge against lord Granby is of a most 
serious and alarming nature indeed. Junius asserts, 
that the army is mouldering away, for want of the 
direction of a man of common abilities and spirit. 
The present condition of the army gives the directest 
lie to his assertions. It was never upon a more res- 
pectable footing with regard to discipline and all the 
essentials that can form good soldiers. Lord Ligo- 
nier delivered a firm and noble palladium of our 
safeties into lord Granby's hands, who has kept it in 
the same good order in which he received it. The 
strictest care has been taken to fill up the vacant 
coramissions with such gentlemen as have the gloiy 
of their ancestors to support, as well as their own ; 
and are doubly bound to the cause of their king and 
country, from motives of private property, as well 
18 puhlic spirit. The adjutant-general, who has the 



42 TUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

immediate care of the troops after lord Graiiby^ i% 
an officer that would do great honour to any service 
in Europe, for his correct arrangements, good sense 
and discernment upon all occasions, and for a 
punctuality and precision which give the most entire 
satisfaction to all who are obliged to consult him. 
The reviewing generals, who inspect the army twice 
a-ycar, have been selected with the greatest care, 
and have answered the important trust reposed in 
(hem in the most laudable manner. Their reports 
of the condition of the army are much more to be 
credited than those of Junius, whom I do advise to 
atone for his shameful aspersions, by asking pardon 
of lord Granby and the whole kingdom, whom hf 
has otfended by his abominable scandals. In short, 
to turn Junius's own battery against him, I must 
assert in his own words, " that he has given strong 
assertions without proof, declamation without argu 
ment, and violent censures without dignity or mo- 
deration." 

WILLI AIM. DRAPER. 



ill. 



To Sir William Drape Knight of the Bath. 

SIR, February 7, 1769. 

Your defence of lord Granby does iionour to the 
goodness of your heart. You feel, as you ought 
to do, for the reputation of your friend, and you 
express yourself in the warmest language of your 



JUXIUS'S LETTERS. 43 

passioiii. n any other cause, I doubt not vcn» 
would have cautiously weighed the consequencfs of 
committing your name to the licentious discourL^c? 
and malignant opinions of the world : but here, f 
presume, you thought it would be a breach u\ 
friendship, to lose one moment in consulting yoiu" 
understanding ; as if an appeal to the public were 
no more than a military coup de main, wlrere a 
brave man has no rules to follow but the dictates 
of his courage. Touched with your generosity, I 
freely forgive the excesses into which it has led 
you ; and, far from resenting those terms of re- 
proach, wliich, considering that you are an advo- 
cate for decorum, you hav'e heaped upon me rather 
too liberal)}', 1 place them to the account of an 
honest unreflecting indignation, in which your 
cooler judgment and natural politeness had no con- 
cern. I approve of the spirit with which you have 
given your name to the public ; and, if it v.ere a 
proof of any thing but spirit, I should have thought 
myself bound to follow your example. I should 
have hoped that even rhy name might carry some 
authority with it, if I had not seen how very little 
weight or consideration a printed paper receives, 
even from the respectable signature of sir William 
Draper. 

You begin with a general assertion, that writers, 
such as I am, are the real cause of all the public 
evils we complain of. And do you really think, 
gir William, that the licentious pen of a political 
writer is able to produce such important effects ? 
A. little calm reflection might have shown you, thai 
aational calamities do not arise from the description, 



44 JIJNIUS'S LETTERS. 

but from the real character and conduct of ministers 
To have supported your assertion, you should have 
proved, that ilie present ministry are unquestionably 
the best and brightest characters of the kingdom ; 
and that, if the affections of the colonies have been 
alienated, if Corsica has been shamefully abandoned, 
if commerce languishes, if public credit is threatened 
with a new debt, and your own Manilla ransom most 
dishonourably given up, it has all been owing to 
the malice of political writers, who will not suffer 
the best and brightest characters (meaning still 
the present ministry) to take a single right step for 
the honour or interest of the nation. But it seems 
you were a little tender of coming to particulars, 
ifour conscience insinuated to you that it would 
be prudent to leave the characters of Gral'ton, North, 
Hillsborough, Weymoutii, and Mansfield, to shift for 
themselves } and truly, sir William, the part you 
have undertaken is at least as much as you are 
equal to. 

Without disputing lord Granby's courage, we are 
yet to learn in what articles of iniiitary knowledge 
nature has been so very liberal to his mind. It 
you have served with him, you ought to have 
pointed out some instances of able disposition and 
well-concerted enterprise, which might fairly be 
attributed to his capacity as a general. It is you 
sir William, who make your friend appear awkward 
and ridiculous by giving him a laced suit of taw- 
dry qualifications which nature never intended him 
to wear. 

You say he has acquired nothing but honour in 
the field 2 Is the ordnance nothing: Are the Blues 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 45 

nothing ? Is the command of the army, will all 
ihe patronage annexed to it, nothing ? Where he 
got all these nothings I know not ; but you, at least, 
oughi to have told us when he deserved them. 

As to his bounty, compassion, &c. it wouM have 
been but little to tlie purpose, though you had 
proved all that you have asserted. I meddle with 
nothing but his character as commander-in-chief; 
and, though I acquit him of the baseness of selling 
commissions, I still assert, that his military cares 
have never extended beyond the disposal of vacan- 
cies; and I am justified by the complaints of the 
whole army, when I say, that, ni this di>tribulion, 
he consults nothing but parliamentary interest, or 
the gratification of his immediate dependents. As 
to his servile submission to the reigning ministry, 
let me ask, whether he did not desert the cause 
of the whole army, wlien he suflered sir JefTery 
.\mherst to be sacrificed, and what share he had in 
recalling that officer to the service .'' Did he not 
betray the just interest of the army in permitting 
lord Pex-cy to have a regiment.^ And does he not, 
at this moment, give up all character and dignity 
as a gentleman, in receding from his own repeated 
declarations in favour of Mr. Wilkes .'' 

In the two next articles, I think, we are agreed. 
You candidly admit, that he often makes such pro- 
mises as it is a virtue in him to violate, and that no 
man is more assiduous to provide for his relations at 
the public expense. I did not urge the Jast as an 
absolute vice in his disposition, but to prove that a 
careless, disinterested spirit is no part of his character: 
and as to the other, 1 d(^sire it may be remembered. 



46 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

that I never descended to the indecency of inquiring 
into his convivial hours. It is you, sir William Dra- 
per, who have taken pains to represent your friend 
in the character of a drunken landlord, who deals 
out his promises as liberally as his liquor, and will 
suffer no man to leave his table either sorrowful or 
sober. None but an intimate friend, who must fre- 
quently have seen him in these unhappy, disgraceful 
moments, could have described him so well. 

The last charge, of the neglect of the army, is 
indeed the most material of all. 1 am sorry to tell 
you, sir William, "that in this article your first fact 
is false : and as there is nothing more painful to me 
than to give a direct contradiction to a gentleman of 
yoiu' appearance, I could wish, that, in your future 
publications, you would pay a greater attention to 
the truth of your premises, before you suffer your 
genius to hurry you to a conclusion. Lord Ligonier 
did not deliver the army (which you, in classical 
language, are pleased to call a. palladium) into lord 
Granby's hands. It was taken from him, much 
against his inclination, some two or three years before 
lord Granby was commander-in-chief. As to the 
state of the army, I should be glad to know where 
you have received your intelligence. Was it in the 
rooms at Bath, or at your retreat at Clifton ? Tlie 
reports of reviewing generals comprehend only a few 
regiinnnts in England, which, as tiiey are immediately 
under the royal inspection, are perhaps in some tole- 
rable order. But do you know any thing of the 
troops in the West Indies, the Mediterranean, and 
North America ; to say nothing of a whole army 
absolutely ruined in Ireland ? Inquire a little into 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 47 

facts, sir VVjlliam, before you publish your next 
panegyric upon 1 )vd Granby ; and, believe me, you 
will find there is a fault at head-quarters, which even 
the acknowledged care and abilities of the adjutant 
aenoral cannot correct. 

Permit me now, sir William, to address myself 
jiLisonally to you, by way of thanks for the honour 
of your correspondence. You are by no means un- 
deserving of notice ; and it may be of consequence, 
even to lord Granby, to have it determined, whether 
Gi' no the man, who has praised him so lavishly, be 
himself deserving of praise. When you returned to 
Europe, you zealously undertook the cause of that 
gallant army, by whose bravery at Manilla your own 
'brtune had been established. You complained, you 
threatened, you even appealed to the public in print. 
By what accident did it happen, that, in the midst of 
all this bustle, and all these clamours for justice to 
I'our injured troops, the name of the Manilla ransom 
>vas suddenly buried in a profound, and, si-Ne tiiJil 
time, an uninterrupted silence.'' Did the ministry 
suggest any motives to you strong enough to tempt a 
man of honour to desert and betray the cause of hi^ 
fellow soldiers ? Was it that blushing ribbon which 
is now tho> perpetual ornament of your person.^ Orwa« 
it that reginuMU which 3'ou afterwards (a thing mipre- 
cedented amonu; soldiers) sold to colonel Gisborne ? 
Or was it that government, the full pay of which you 
are contented to hold, with the half-pay of an Irish 
colonel.'' And do you now, after a retreat not 
very like that of Scipio, presume to intrude yourself, 
inUhought of, uncalled for, upon the patience of the 
LMiMic '' Are voir flatteries of the commander-in- 



48 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

clilef, directed to another r.:!giaient5 whi.rh you ma.j 
again dispose of on the same honourable terms ? 
We know your prudence, sir William ; and 1 should 
be sorry to stop your preferment. 



JUNIUS 



IV. 



To Junius. 

SIR, February 17, 1769. 

I received Junius's favour last night : he is deter- 
mined to keep his advantage by the help of hir- 
mask : it is an excellent protection : it has saved 
many a man from an untimely end. But whenever 
he will be honest enough to lay it aside, avow him- 
self, and produce the face which has so long lurked 
behind it, the world wili be able to judge of his 
motives for writing sucii infamous invectives. His 
real name will discover his freedom and indepen- 
dency, or his servility to a faction. Disappointed 
ambition, resentment for defeated hopes, and desire 
of revenge, assume but too often the appearance of 
public spirit : but, be his designs wicked or chari- 
table Junius should learn, that it is possible to 
(.ondemn measures without a barbarous and crim- 
inal outrage against iner. Junius deligiits to 
mangle carcases with a natchet ; his language 
and instrument have a great connexion with Clare- 
raarket, and, to do him justice, he handles his weapon 
most admirably. One would imagine he iiad been 
♦.'.light to tiu-ow it by the savages of America. It is 



JUNIUS S LETTERS. 4a 

therefore, high time for me to step in once raoie to 
shield my friend from this merciless wftipon, dlihtiugh 
[ may be wounded in the attempt. But 1 must first 
ask Junius by what forced analogy and construction, 
the moments of convivial mirth are made to sij^nify 
indecency, a violation of engagements, a drunken 
landlord, and a desire that every one in company 
should be drunk likewise ? He must have culled 
all the flowers of St. Giles's and Billingsgate to 
have produced such a piece of oratory. Here the 
hatchet descends with tenfold vengeance : but, alas ! 
it hurts no one but its master i For Junius must 
not think to put words into my mouth, that seem 
loo foul even for his own. 

My friend's political engagements I know not ; so 
cannot pretend to explain them, or assert their con- 
sistency. I know not whether Junius be considerable 
enough to belong to any party. If he should be so, 
can he affirm that he has always adhered to one set 
of men and measures ? Is he sure that he has never 
sided with those whom he was first hired to abuse ? 
Has he never abused those he was hired to praise ? 
To say the truth, most men's politics sit much too 
loosely about them. But as my friend's military 
character was the chief object that engaged me in 
this controversy, to tha't I shall return, 

Junius asks, what instances my friend has given 
of his military skill and capacity as a general ? 
When and where he gained his honour ? When 
he deserved his emoluments .'* The united voice 
of the army which served under him, the glorious 
testimony of prince Ferdi.'iand, and of vanquished 
enemies, all Germany will tell hiuj. Junius re- 



bO JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

peats the complaints of the army against parlit - 
mentary influence. I love the army too well i*ol 
to wish that such influence were less. Let Junius 
point out the time when it has not prevailed. It 
was of the least force in the time of that c^reat 
man, the late duke of Cumberland, who, as a 
prince of the blood, was able, as well as willing, 
to stem a torrent which would have overborne any 
private subject. In time of war, this influence is 
small. In peace, when discontent and faction have 
the surest means to operate, especially in this coun- 
try, and when, from a scarcity of public spirit, the 
wheels of government are rarely moved but by the 
power and force of obligations, its weight is always 
too great. Yet, if this influence, at present, has 
done no greater harm than the placing earl Percy at 
the head of a regiment, I do not think that either 
the rights or best interests of the army are sacri- 
ficed and betrayed, or the nation undone. Let me 
ask Junius, if he knows any one nobleman in the 
army who has had a regiment by seniority ? I feel 
myself happy in seeing young noblemen of illus- 
trious name and great property come amongst us 
They are an additional security to the kingdom 
from foreign or domestic slavery. Junius needs not 
be toJd, that, should the time ever come when this 
i£ation is to be defended only by those who have 
uothmg more to lose than their arms and their pay, 
its danger will be great indeed. A happy mixture 
of men of quality with soldiers of fortune is always 
to be wished for. But the main point is still to be 
contended for ; I mean the discipline and condition 
of the army ; and I must still maintain, though con* 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. , 5i 

iradicled by Junius, that it was never upot» <i mow 
respectable footing, as to all the essentials that can 
form good soldiers, than it is at present. Junius is 
forced to allow, that our army at home may be in 
some tolerable order ; yet, how kindly does he in- 
vite our late enemies to the invasion of Ireland, by 
assuring them that the army in that kingdom is 
totally ruined ! (The colonels of that army are 
much obliged to him.) I have too great an opinion 
of the military talents of the lord-lieutenant, and of 
all their diligence and capacit}', to believe it. If, 
from some strange unaccountable fatality, the people 
of that kingdom camiot be induced to consult their 
own security, by such an effectual augmentation as 
nay enable the troops there to act with power and 
energy, is the commander-in-chief here to blame ? 
Or, is he to blame, because the troops in the Medi- 
terranean, in the West Indies, in America, labour 
under great difficidties from the scarcity of men, 
which is but too visible all over these kingdoms ? 
Many of our forces are in climates unfavourable to 
British constitutions ; their loss is in proportion. 
Britain must recruit all these regiments from her 
own emaciated bosom ; or, more precariously, by 
catholics from Ireland. We are likewise subject to 
the fatal drains to the East Indies, to Senegal, and 
the alarming en)igrations of our people to other 
countries. Such depopulation can onl}' be repaired 
by a long peace, or by some sensible bill of natural- 
ization. 

I must now take the libert}' of addressing Junius 
on my own account. He is pleased to tell me that 
he addresses himself to me personally : I shall be 



52 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

glad to see him. It is his impersonality that I com- 
plain of, and his invisible attacks : for his dagger in 
the air is only to be regai'ded, because one cannot 
see the hand which holds it ; but, had it not wounded 
other people more deep]}' than myself, I should not 
have obtruded myself at all on the patience of the 
public 

Mark how plain a tale shall put him down, and 
transfuse the blush of my ribbon into his own cheeks. 
Junius tells me, tliat at my return, I zealously under- 
took the cause of the gallant army, by whose bra- 
very at Manilla my own fortunes were established ; 
that I complained, that I even appealed to the public. 
I did so ; I glory in having done so, as I had an 
uudoubted right to vindicate my own character, 
attacked by a Spanish memorial, and to assert the 
rights of my brave companions. I glory, likewise, 
that I have never taken up my pen but to vindicate 
the injured. Junius asks, by what accident did it 
iiappen, that, in the midst of all this bustle, and all 
the clamours for justice to the injured troops, the 
Manilla ransom was suddenly buried in a profound, 
and, since that time, an uninterrupted silence .'* 1 
will explain the cause to the public. The several 
ministers who have been employed since that time 
have been very desirous to do justice, from two 
most laudable motives: a strong inclination to assist 
injured bravery, and to acquire a well-deserved 
popularity to themselves. Their eflbrts have been 
in vain. Some were ingenuous enough to own, 
that tlicy could not tiiink of involving this distressed 
nation in another war for our private k oncerns. In 
short, our lights, for the present, an. sacrificed to 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. *d 

national convenience ; and I must confess, (hat a.- 
though I may lose tive-and-twenty thousand pounds 
by their acquiescence to this breach of faith in tlie 
Spaniards, I thinii they are in the right to temporize, 
considering tl^e critical situation of this country, 
convulsed in every part, by poison infused b}; 
anonx'mous, wicked, and incendiary writers. Lord 
Slielburne will do me the justice to own, that in 
September last, I waited upon him with a joint me- 
morial from the admiral, sir S. Cornish, and myself, 
in behalf of our injured companions. His lordship 
was as frank upon the occasion as other secretaries 
had been before him. He did not deceive us, by 
giving any immediate hopes of relief. 

Junius would basely insinuate, that my silence 
may have been purchased by my goverment, by 
my blushing ribbon, by my regiment, by the sale of 
that regiment, and by half-pay as an Irish colonel. 

His majesty was pleased to give me my govern- 
ment for my service at Madras. I had my first 
regiment in 1757. Upon my return from Manilla, 
his majesty, by lord Egremont, informed me, that 
I should have the first vacant red ribbon, as a 
reward for many services in an enterprise which I 
had planned as well as executed. The duke ol 
Hedford and Mr. Grenville confirmed these assu- 
rances, many months before the Spaniards had pro- 
tested tl;e ransom bills. To accomodate lord Clive, 
then going upon a most important service to Bengal, 
I waved my claim to the vacancy which then hap- 
pened. As there was no other vacancy until the 
duke of Grafton and lord Rockingham were joint 
m'nisters T was then honoured witl he order,; mii 



64 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

it is isurel}' no small honour to me, that, m sucn at 
succession of ministers, they were all pleased to 
think that I had deserved it ; in my favour they 
were all united. Upon the reduction of the 79th 
regiment, which had served so gloriously in the 
East Indies, his majesty, unsolicited by me, gave me 
the 16tli of foot as an equivalent. My motives for 
retiring, afterwards, are foreign to the purpose: let 
it suffice, that iiis majesty was pleased to approve ol 
them : they are such as no man can think indecent, 
who knows the shocks that repealed vicissitudes of 
heat and cold, of dangerous and sickly climates, 
will give to the best constitutions, in a pretty long 
course of service. I resigned my regiment to colonel 
Gisljorne, a very good officer, for his half-pay, and 
200/. Irish annuity : so that, according to Junius, I 
have been bribed to say nothing more of the Manilla 
ransom, and to sacrifice those brave men, by the 
strange avarice of accepting 380/. per annum, and 
giving up 800/. ! If this be bribery, it is not the 
bribery of these *imes. As to my flattery, those who 
know me will judge of it. By the asperity of Junius's 
style, 1 cannot, indeed, call him a flatterer, unless he 
be as a cynic or a mastiflf: if he wags his tail, he wil 
still growl, and long to bite. The public will now 
judge of the credit that ought to be given to Junius'* 
writings, from the falsities that he has insinuated with 
pespect to myself. 

WILLIAM DRAPER. 



JUNiUS'S LETTERS. 66 



To Sir Wilham Draper^ Knighi of the liath. 

SIR, February 21 1769 

1 should justly be suspected of acting upon motives 
cil" more than common enmity to lord Granby, if I 
continued to give you fresh materials or occasion 
for writing in his defence. Individuals who hate, 
and the public who despise, have read your letters^ 
sir William, with infinitely more satisfaction than 
mine. Unfortunately for him, his reputation, like 
that unhappy country to whicli you refer me for his 
last military achievements, has suffered more by his 
friends than his enemies In mercy to him, let us 
drop the subject. For my own part, I willingly 
leave it to the public to determine, whether your 
viuaication of your friend has been as able and ju- 
dicious as it was certainly well intended : and you, 
I think, may be satisfied with the warm acknow- 
ledgments he already owes you, for making him the 
principal figure ii> <t piece, in which, but for your 
amicable assistance, he might have passed without 
particular notice or distinction. 

in justice to your friends, et your future labouri 
be confined to the care of your own reputation. 
Vour declaration, that you are happy in seeing 
young noblemen come among us, is liable to two ob- 
jections. With respect to lord Percy, it means 
uolhing ; for he was already in the army, lli; was 



56 JUNIUS'S T.ETTERS. 

aide-de-camp to the kiiii;', and had the rank ol 
colonel. A regiment, therefore, could not make him 
a more military man, though it made him richer ; 
and probably at the expense of some brave, deserv- 
ing, friendless officer. The other concerns your- 
self. After selling the companions of your victory 
in one instance, and after selling your profession in 
the other, by what authority do you presume to call 
yourself a soldier ? The plain evidence of facis is 
superior to all declarations. Before you were ap- 
pointed to the 16th regiment, your complaints were 
a distress to government • from that moment you 
were silent. The concUsion is inevitable. You 
insinuate to us, that your ill state of health obliged 
you to quit the service. The retirement necessary 
to repair a broken constitution would have been as 
good a reason for not accepting, as for resigning, 
the command of a regiment. There is certainly an 
error of the press, or an affected obscurity in that 
paragraph, where you speak of your bargain with 
colonel Gisborne. Instead of attempting to answer 
what I do not really understand, permit n)e to explain 
to the public what I really know. In exchange for 
your regiment, you accepted of a colonel's half-pay, 
(at least 220Z. a year) and an annuity of 200/. for 
your own and lady Draper's life jointly. And is 
ibis the losing bargain, which you would represent 
to us, as if you had given up an income of 800Z. a 
year for 3S0Z. .'' Was it decent, was it honourable, 
in a man who pretends to love the army, and calls 
himself a soldier, to make a traffic of the roval fa- 
vour, and turn the highest honour of an activ pro- 
fession into a sordid prov'sion for himself Ui.d his 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. S* 

family ? It were unworthy of me to press you far- 
lhei\ The contempt with which the wiioie army 
heard of the manner of your retreat, assures nie. 
that, as your conduct was not justified by precedent, 
it will never be thought an example for imitation. 

The last and most important question remains. 
When you receive your half-pay, do you or do you 
not, take a solemn oath, or sign a declaration, upon 
your honour, to the following effect ? That you do 
not actually hold any place of profit, civil or mili' 
tary, under his majesty. The charge which the 
question plainly conveys against you, is of so shock- 
ing a complexion, that I sincerely wish you may be 
able to answer it well j not merely for the colour 
of your reputation, but for your own inward peace of 
mind. 

JUNIUS. 



VI. 



To Junius. 

S\% February 27, 1769. 

1 have a very short answer for Junius's important 

question. 1 do not either take an oath, or declare 

upon my honour, that 1 hold no p.ace ui profit, civil 

or military, when I receive the half-pay as an Irish 

colonel : my most gracious sovereign gives it me as 

a pension : he was pleased to think I deserved it 

The annuity of 200Z. Irish, and the equivalent for 

Hk half-pay, together produce no more than 380Z 

c 2 



58 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

per annual, clear of fees and perquisites of office. 
1 receive 167Z. from my government of Yarmoutli. 
Total 547Z, per annum. My conscience is much ai 
ease in these particulars : my friends need not blush 
for me. 

Junius makes much and frequent use of interro- 
gations : they are arms that may be easily turned 
against himself. I could, by malicious interroga- 
tion, disturb the peace of the most virtuous man in 
the kingdom. I could take the decalogue, and say 
to one man, Did you never steal ? To the next. 
Did you never commit murder.'' And to Junius 
himself, who is putting my life and conduct to the 
rack, Did you never " bear false witness against 
thy neighbour ?" Junius must easily see, that, un- 
less he affirms to the contrary, in his real name, some 
people, who may be as ignorant of kim as I am, will 
be apt to suspect him of having deviated a little from 
the truth : therefore let Junius ask no more questior* 
ITou bile against a file • Cease viper ! 



JLTNIUS'S LETTERS. 5» 



VII. 

To Sir fVilliam Draper, Knight of the Bath. 

SIR March 3, 1769. 

An academical education has given you an un» 
imited command over the most beautiful figures ot 
speech. Masks, hatchets, racks, and vipers, danct 
through your letters in all the mazes of metaphorical 
confusion. These are the gloomy companions of a 
disturbed imagination ; the melancholy madness of 
poetry, without the inspiration. I will not contend 
with you in point of composition : you are a scholar, 
sir William; and, if I am trulj^ informed, you write 
Latin witli almost as much purity as English. Suf- 
fer me then (for I am a plain unlettered man) to 
continue that style of interrogation which suits ray 
capacity, and to which, considering the readiness of 
your answers, you ought to have no objection. 
Even Mr. Bingley* promises to answer, if put to the 
torture. 

Do you then really think, that, if I were to ask a 
most virtuous man, whether he ever committed theft 
or murder, it would disturb his peace of mind ' 
Such a question might, perhaps, discompose the 

* This man, being committed by the coiut of king's 
bench for contempt, voluntaril}- made oath that he would 
never answer intenogatories unless he should be put to the 
torture. 



60 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

gravity of his muscles, but I believe it would littl*; 
affect the tranqiiillit}^ of his conscience. Examine 
yeur own breast, sir William, and you will discover 
that reproaches and inquiries have no power to 
afflict either the man of unblemished integrity or the 
abandoned profligate. It is the middle compound 
character which alone is vulnerable; the man who, 
without firmness enough to avoid a dishonourable 
action, has feeling enough to be ashamed of it 

I thank you for the hint of the decalogue^ and 
shall take an opportunity of applying it to some of 
your most virtuous friends in both houses of par- 
liament. 

You seem to have dropped the affair of your regi- 
ment; so let it rest. When you are appointed to 
another, I d^re say you will not sell it either for & 
gross sum, or for an annuity upon lives. 

1 am truly glad (for really, sir William, I am not 
your enemy, nor did I begin this contest with you) 
that you have been able to clear yourself of a crime, 
though at the expense of the highest indiscretion. 
You say that your half-pay was given you by way 
of pension. I will not dwell upon the singularity of 
uniting in your own person two sorts of provision, 
which, in their own nature, and in all military and 
parliamentary views, are incompatible ; but I call 
upon you to justify that declaration, wherein you 
charge your sovereign with having done an act in 
your favour notoriously against law. The half-pay, 
both in Ireland and England, is appropriated by 
parliament; and if it be given to persons who, like 
you, are legally incapable of holding it, it is a breach 
ftf law. It would hinc b^en more decent in }ou to 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 61 

have called this dishonourable transaction by its true 
name ; ^job, to accommodate two persons, by par 
ticular iiileresi and management at the castle.— 
What sense must government have had of your ser- 
vices, when the rewards they have given you are 
only a disgrace to you ! 

And now, sir William, 1 shall take my leave of 
you for ever. Motives ^ ery dilTereni from any ap- 
prehension of your resentment make it impossihle 
you should ever know me. In truth, you have 
some reason to hold yourself indebted to me. From 
the lessons I have given you, you may collect a pro- 
fitable instruction for your future life. They vvil 
either teach you so to regulate your future conduct, 
as to be able to set the most malicious inquiries at 
defiance ; or, if that bo; a lost hope, they will teach 
vou prudence enough not to attract the public atten- 
tion to a character, which will only pass withom 
censure, when it passes without observation.* 

JUNIUS. 



* It has been said, I believe truly, that it was signified 
to sir Willicmi Draper, as the request of lord Granby, that 
he should desist from writing in his lordship's defence. Sh 
William Drai)er certainly drew Junius forward to say more 
of lord Graiiby's character than he originally intended. He 
was reduced to the dilemma, of either being totally silenced, 
or of su|)j)orting his first letter. Whether sir William had 
a right to reduce him to this dilemma, or to call upon him 
for his name, after a voluntary attack on his side, are 
questions submitted to the candour of the public. The 
death of lord Granby was lamented by Junius. He un- 
doubtedly owed some compensations to the public, and 



fi2 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 



VIII. 



To his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, IMarch 18, 1769. 

Before you were placed at the head of affairs, 
it had been a maxim of the Enghsh goverrmient, 
not nnvvillingly admitted by the people, that every 
ungracious or severe exertion of the prerogative 
should be placed to the account of the minister ; 
but, that whenever an act of grace or benevolence 
was to be performed, the whole merit of it should 
be attributed to the sovereign himself.* It was a 
wise doctrine, my lord, and equally advantageous 

seemed determined to acquit himself of them. In private 
life, he was unquestionably that good man, who, for the 
interest of his country, ought to have been a great one. 
Bonum virum facile dixeris ! magnum libenter. I speak 
of him now without partiality ; I never spoke of him with 
resentment. His mistakes, in public conduct, did not arise 
either from want of sentiment, or want of judgment ; bat, 
in general, from the difficulty of saying no to the bad peo- 
ple who surrounded him. 

As for the rest, the friends of lord Granby should re- 
member, that he himself thought proper to condemn, 
retract, and disavow, by a most solemn declaration, in the 
nouse of commons, that very system of political conduct 
which Junius has held forth to the disapprobation of the 
public. 

* Les rois ne se sont reserves que les graces. lis renvoie'ii 
ies con damnations vers leurs officiers. — Montesquieu. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 63 

to the king and his subjects ; for while it preserved 
that suspicious attention with which the people 
ought always to examine the conduct of ministers, 
it tended, at the same time, rather to increase than 
diminish their attachment to the person of their 
sovereign. If there be not a fatality atteiuling every 
measure you are concerned in, b}' what treachery, 
or by what excess of folly has it happened, that 
those ungracious acts which have distinguished your 
administration, and which, I doubt not, were en- 
tirely your own, should carry with them a strong 
appearance of personal interest, and even of per- 
somal enmity, in a quarter where no such interest 
or enmity can be supposed to exist, without the 
highest injustice, and the highest dishonour ? On 
the other hand, by what judicious management have 
you contrived it, that the only act of mercy to 
which you ever advised your sovereign, far from 
adding to the lustre of a character truly gracious 
and benevolent, should be received with universal 
disapprobation and disgust ? I shall consider it as 
a ministerial measure, because it is an odious one, 
and as your measure, my lord duke, because you are 
the minister. 

As long as the trial of this chairman was depend- 
ing, it was natural enough that government should 
give him every possible encouragement and support. 
The iionourable service for which he was hired, and 
the spirit with which he performed it, made common 
cause between your grace and him. The minister, 
who by secret corruption, invades the freedom of 
elections, and the ruffian, who, b}' open violence 
destroys that freedom, are embarked in the same 



64 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

bottom ; they have the same interests, and mutually 
feel for each other. To do justice to your grace's 
humanity, you felt for M'Quirk as you ought to do ; 
and if you had been contented to assist him indi- 
rectly, \vitlu)ut a notorious denial of justice, or 
openl}' insuhing the sense of the nation, 3'ou might 
have satisfied every duty of political friendship, with- 
out committing the honour of your sovereign, or 
hazarding t:i8 reputation of his government. But 
when this unhappy man had been solemnly tried, 
convicted, and condemned ; when it appeared that 
he had been frequently emplo^^ed in the same ser- 
vices, and that no excuse for him could be drawn 
either from the innocence of his former life, or the 
simplicity of his character ; was it not hazarding too 
much, to interpose the strength of the prerogative 
between this felon and the justice of his country 't* 



* IVldtehall, March 11, 1769. His majesty has been 
^aciously jileased to extend his roj-al mercy to Edward 
M'Quirk, found guilty of the murder of George Clarke, as 
appears by liis royal warrant, to the tenour following : 
GEORGE R. 

Whereas a doubt has arisen in our voy.sX breast concern- 
ing the evidence of the death of George Clarke, from the 
representations of William Broomfield, esq. surgeon, and 
Solomon Starling, apothecary ; both of whom, as has been 
represented to us, attended the deceased before his death, 
and expressed their opinions that he did not die of the blow 
he received at Brentford : and whereas it appears to us 
that neither of the said persons were produceti as witnesses 
jpon tiie trial, th )ugh the said Solomon Starling liad been 
examined before the coroner ; and tht only person called 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 6ft 

iTou ouglit to have known t?iat an example of this 
sort was never so necessary as at present ; ' - 
tainly you must have known, that the lot could not 
have fallen upon a more guilty object. What sys- 



to prove that the death of the said George Clarke was occa 
sioned by the said blow, was John Foot, surgeon, who never 
saw the deceased till after his death : we thought fit ther»- 
upon to refer the said representations, togethei with the t%- 
(>ort of the recorder of our city of London, of the evidenc* 
given by Richard and William Beale and the said Johi 
Foot, on the trial of Edward Quirk, otherwise called Ed 
ward Kirk, otherwise called Edward M' Quirk, for the inur 
der of the said Clarke, to the master, wardens, and the rest 
of the court of examiners of the surgeons' company, com- 
manding them likewise to take such farther examinatiun of 
ihe said persons, so representing, and of said John Foot, as 
t4iey might think necessary, together with tlie premises 
above-mentioned, to form and report to us their opinion, 
" Whether it did or did not appear to them that the said 
George Clarke died in consequence of the blow he received 
in the riot at Brentford on the 8th of December last." 
And the said court of examiners of the surgeons' company 
having thereupon reported to us their opinion, — " That it 
did not appear to them that he did ;" we have thouglit jiroper 
to extend our royal mercy to him the said Edward Quirk, 
otherwise Edward Kirk, otherwise called Edward M-Quirk, 
and to grant him our free pardon for the murder of the said 
Greorge Clarke, of which he has been found guilty. Our will 
tnd pleasure, therefore, is. That the said Edward Quirk, 
otherwise called Edward Kirk, otherwise called Edward 
M'Quirk, be inserted, for the said murder, in our first and 
next general pardon that shall c) n" out for the j)oor convicts 
of Newgate, without any condition whatsoever; and thit, m 



66 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

tem of government is this ? You are perpetually 
complaining of the riotous disposition of the lower 
class of people ; yet when the laws have given you 
the means of making an example, in every sense 
unexceptionable, and b}"^ far the most likely to awe 
the rnuliitude, you pardon the offence, and are nol 
ashamed to give the sanction of government to tiic 
riots you complain of, and even to future murders. 
Vou are partial, perhaps, to the n)ilitary mode of ex- 
ecution ; and had rather see a score of these wretches 
butchered by the guards, than one of tliem suffer 
death by regular course of law. How does it hap- 
pen, my lord, that, in your hands, even the mercy 
of the prerogative is cruelty and oppression to the 
subject .'' 

The measure, it seems, was so extraordinary, that 
you thought it necessary to give some reasons for it 
to the public. Let tiiem be fairly examined. 

I. You say, that Messrs. Broomjield and Starling 
were not examined at jypQ^uirk^s trial. I will tell 



ihe mean tune, yon take bail for his aj)])earance, in order to 
oleaci our said j)ardoii. And for so doing this shall be youi 
irarrani. 

Given at our court at St. James's, liie tenth day o/ 

March, 17G9, in the ninth yeui" of our reign. 
By his majesty's command. K')CHKORD. 

Vo our trusty and well-beloved 
James Eyre, esq. recorder o< 
our city of London, the sheriffs 
of our said city and county of 
Middlesex, and all others whom 
it may concern. 



JUNIUS^ LETTERS. 67 

your grice why ihey were not. They must have 
beeu examined upon oath ; and it was foreseen, thai 
their evidence would either not benefit, or might be 
prejudicial, to the prisoner. Otherwise, is 't con- 
ceivable that his counsel should neglec* to call in such 
material evidence.'' 

2. You say, that JMr. Foot did not see the deceased 
until after his death. A surgeon, my lord, must 
know very little ol' his profession, if, upon examin- 
ing a wound or a contusion, he cannot determine 
whether it was mortal or not. While the party is 
alive, a surgeon will lie cautious of pronouncing : 
whereas, by the deatii of the patient, he is enabled 
to consider both cause and effect in one view, and 
to speak with a certainty confirmed by experience. 

3. Yet we are to thank your grace for the estab- 
lishment of a new tribunal. Your inquisito post 
mortem, is unknown to the laws of England, and 
does honour to your invention. The only material 
objection to it is, that if Mr. Foot's evidence was 
insufficient, because he did not examine the wound 
till after the death of the party, much less can a 
negative opinion, given by gentlemen who never saw 
the body of Mr. Clarke either before or after his 
decease, authorise you to supersede the verdict of a 
jury, and the sentence of the law. 

Now, my lord, let me ask you. Has it never oc- 
curred to your grace, while you were withdrawing 
this desperate wretch from that justice which the laws 
had awarded, and which the whole people of Eng- 
land demanded against him, that there is another 
man, who is the favourite of his country, whose 
pardon would have been accepted wiilj gratitude, 



68 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

whose pardon would have healed all our divisions f 
Have 3^ou quite forgotten that this man was once 
vour grace's I'riend ? Or, is it to murderers only that 
you will extend the mercy of the crown ? 

These are questions you will not answer, nor is it 
necessary. The character of your private life, and 
Che uniform tenor of ^our public conduct, is au 
answer to them all. 

JUNIUS. 



IX. 



To his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, April 10, 1769. 

I have so good an opinion of your grace's dis- 
cernment, that when the author of the vindication oi 
your conduct assures us that he writes from his own 
mere motion, without the least authority from your 
grace, I should be ready enough to believe him, but 
for one fatal mark, which seems to be fixed upon 
every measure in which either your personal or 
political character is concerned. Your first attempt 
to support sir William Proctor ended in the election 
of Mr. Wilkes; the second insured success to Mr. 
Glynn. The extraordinary step you took to make 
sir James Lowther lord paramount of Cumberland 
has ruined his interest in that county for ever : the 
house list of directors was cursed with the concur- 
rence of government ; and even the miserabi*' 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 69 

Dmgley* could not escape the misfortune of yoiu 
grace's protection. With this uniform experience 
before us, we are authorised to suspect, that when a 
pretended vindication of your principles and con- 
duct, in reality, contains the bitterest reflections 
upon both, it could not have been written without 
your immediate direction and assistance. The 
author, indeed, calls God to witness for him, with 
all the sincerity, and in the very terms of an Irish 
evidence, to the best of Ids knowledge and belief. 
My lord, you should not encourage these appeals to 
Heaven. The pious prince, from whom you are 
supposed to descend, made such frequent use of them 
in his public declarations, that, at last, the people 
also found it necessary to appeal to Heaven in their 
turn. Your administration has driven us into cir- 
cumstances of equal distress : beware, at least, how 
you remind us of the remedy. 

You have already much to answer for. You have 
pi evoked this unhappy gentleman to play the fool 
once more in public lite, in spite of his years and 
infirmities : and to show us, that, as you yourself 
are a singular instance of youth without spirit, the 
man who defends you is a no less remarkable ex- 
ample of age without the benefit of experience. To 
follow such a writer minutely, would, like his own 

* This unfortunate person had been persuaded by the 
duke of Grafton to set up for JMiddlesex, his grace being 
determined to seat him in the house of commons, if he had 
but a single vote. It happened, unluckily, that he could 
not prevail upon any one freeholder to put him in nora»- 
jation 



70 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

periods, be labour without end. The Svibject toa 
has been already discussed, and is sufficiently uii* 
derstood. I cannot help observing^, however, that 
when the pardon of M'Quirk was the principal 
charge against you, it would have been but a decent 
compliment to your grace's understanding, to have 
defended you upon your own principles. Wliat 
credit does a man deserve, who tells us plainly, that 
the facts set forth in the king's proclamation were 
not the true motives on which the pardon was 
granted ? and that he wishes that those chirurgical 
reports, which first gave occasion to certain doubts 
in the royal breast, had not been laid before his 
majest}' ,'' You see, my lord, that even your friends 
cannot defend your actions, without changing your 
principles; nor justify a deliberate measure of go- 
vernment without contradicting the main assertion 
on which it was founded. 

The conviction of M'Quirk had reduced you to 
a dilemma in which it was hardly possible for you 
to reconcile your political interest with your duty. 
You were obliged either to abandon an active, use- 
ful partizan, or to protect a felon from public jus- 
tice. With your usual spirit you preferred your 
interest to every other consideration ; and, with 
your usual judgment, you founded your determina- 
tion upon the only motives which should not have 
been given to the public. 

I have frequently censured Mr. Wilkes's conduct, 
yet your advocate reproaches me with having de- 
voted myself to the service of sedition. Your grace 
can best infoi'm us for which of Mr. Wilkes's good 
qualities you first honoured him with your friend- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS, 71 

•hip, or how long it was before you discovered 
those bad ones in him, at which, it seetns, your 
delicacy was offended. Remember, my lord, thai 
you continued your connexion with ?/Ir. Wilkes, 
long after he had been convicted of those crimes 
which you have since taken pains to represent in 
the blackest colours of blasphemy and treason. 
How unlucky is it, that the first instance you have 
given us of a scrupulous regard to decorum, is 
united with a breach of a moral obligation ! For 
my own part, my lord, 1 am proud to affirm, that 
if I had been weak enough to form such a friend- 
ship, I would never have been base enough to betray 
it. But let Mr. Wilkes's character be what it may, 
this, at least is certain ; that circumstanced as 
16 is, with regard to the public, even his vices 
■jlead for him. The people of Englanrl have too 
much discernment to suffer your grace to take ad- 
vantage of the failings of a private character, to 
establish a precedent by which the public liberty is 
affected, and which you may hereafter, with equal 
ease and satisfaction, employ to the ruin of the 
oest men in the kingdom. Content yourself, my 
/ord, with the many advantages which the unsullied 
purit}'^ of your own character has given you over 
your unhappy deserted friend. Avail yourself ol 
all the unforgiving piety of the court you live in, 
and bless God that ' you are not as other men are ; 
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this pub- 
lican.' In a heart void of feeling, the laws of honour 
and good faith may be violated with impunit}^, and 
there you may saft-ly in lulge your genius. But the 
laws of England s!i;dl r.nt. bo violated, even by vouf 



72 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

holy zeal to oppress a sinner ; and, though yon have 
succeeded in making him a tool, you sh?JJ not make 
him itie victim of your ambition. 

JUNIUS 



X. 



To Mr. Edward Weston. 

SIR, April 21, 1769. 

I said you were an old man without the benefii of 
experience. It seems you are also a volunteer, with 
the stipend of twenty commissions ; and at a period 
when all prospects are at an end, you are still look- 
ing forward to rewards which you cannot enjoy 
No man is better acquainted with the bounty of 
government than you are ; 

Ton impudence, 



Temeraire vieillard, aura sa recompence. 

But I will not descend to an altercation either with 
the impotence of your age, or the peevishness of your 
diseases. Your pamphlet, ingenious as it is, has been 
Eo little read, that the public cannot know how far 
you have a right to give me the lie, without the fol- 
lowing citation of your own words : 

Page 6th. ' 1. That he is persuaded that the mo- 
tives which he (Mr. Weston) has alleged, must ap- 
pear fully sufficient with or without tlie opinions of 
the surgeons. 



JUNIUS S LETTERS 73 

* 2. That those very motives must have been the 
foundation on whicli the earl of Rochford though! 
proper, k.c. 

' 3. That he cannot but regret, that the earl of 
Rochlurd seems to have thought i)roper to lay the 
ehirurgical reports before the king, in preference to 
all the other sufficient motives,' he. 

Let the public determine whether this be defending 
government on their principles or your own. 

The style and language yon have adopted are, J 
confess, not ill-suited to the elegance of your own 
manners, or to the dignity of the cause you have 
undertaken. Every common dauber writes rascai 
and villain under his pictures, because the pictures 
themselves have neither character nor resemblance. 
But the works of a master require no index ; his 
features and colouring are taken from nature ; tlie 
mipression they make is immediate and uniform ,• 
nor is it possible to mistake his f'haracters, wheifiei 
they represent the treachery o' » minister, or inv. 
p bused simplicity of a king. 



74 fUNlUS'S LETTERS. 



XI. 



To his Grace the Duke of G'ofttn. 

MY LORD, April 24, 1"(V). 

Til*! system you seemed to have adopted when 
tjrd ("^hath-'.m unexpectedly left you at the head ol 
i^flairf, gave us no promise of that uncommon exer- 
tion of v'^^our which has since illustrated your char- 
••icter, a^d distinguished your administration. Far 
from discovering a spir bold enough to invade the 
first rights of the people and the first principles o 
the constitution, you were scrupulous of exercising 
even **hose powers with which the executive branch 
of *.Ue legislature is legally invested. We have not 
yet forgotten how long Mr. Wilkes was suffered to 
appear at large, nor how long he was at liberty to 
canvass for the city and county, with all the terrors 
»f an outlawry hanging over him. Our gracious 
sovereign has not yet forgotten the extraordinary 
care you took of his dignity, and of the safety of 
his person, when, at a crisis which courtiers af- 
fected to call alarming, you left the metropolis ex- 
posed, for two nights together, to every species o'. 
riot and disorder. The security of the royal resi- 
dence from insult was then sufficiently provided for 
in Mr. Conway's firmness, and lord Weymouth's 
discretion ; while the prime minister of Great Bri- 
'ain, in a rural retirement, and in die arms of faded 
»^a"^ty. had lost all mcTsorj' of his sovereign hi» 



JUNEUS'S LETTERS. 73 

country and liiinself. In these instances 3^011 inig-ht 
have acted with vigour, for you would have had the 
sanction of the laws .to support you : the friends 
of governnsent might have defended you without 
shame ; and moderate men, who wish well to tiie 
peace and good order of society, might have had a 
pretence for applauding your conduct. But those, 
it seems, were not occasions worthy of your grace's 
interposition. You reserved the proofs of your in- 
trepid spirit for trials of greater hazard and im- 
portance ; and now, as if the most disgraceful re- 
laxation of the executive authority had given you a 
claim of credit to indulge in excesses still more 
dangerous, you seem determined to compensate 
amply for your former negligence, and to balance 
the non-execution of the laws with a breach of the 
constitution. From one extreme you suddenly start 
to the other, without leaving, between the weakness 
and the fury of the passions, one moment's interva 
for the firmness of the understanding. 

These observations, general as they are, might 
easily be extended into a faithful history of your 
grace's administration, and perhaps may be the em- 
ployment of a future hour. But the business of the 
present moment will not suffer me to look back to a 
series of events, which cease to be interesting or im- 
portant, because they are succeeded by a measure sr 
singularly daring, that it excites all our attention, and 
engrosses all our resentment. 

Your patronage of Mr. Luttrell has been crowned 
with success. With this precedent before you, with 
thj principles on which it v/as established, and with 
a future house of commoi.3, perhaps less virtROus 



76 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

than the present, every county hi England, under the 
auspices of the treasury, may be re})resented as com- 
pletely as the county of Middlesex. Posterity will 
be indebted to your grace for not contenting yourselt 
with a temporary expedient, but entailing upon them 
the immediate blessings of your administreition. 
Boroughs were already too much at the mercy oj 
government. Counties could neither be purchased 
nor intimidated. But their solemn determined elec- 
tion may be rejected ; and the man they detest may 
be appointed by another choice to represent them in 
parliament. Yet it is admitted, that the sheriffs 
obeyed the laws, and performed their duty.* The 
return they made must have been legal and valid, or 
undoubtedly they would have been censured for 
making it. With every good-natured allowance 
for your grace's youth and inexperience, there are 
some things which you cannot but know. You 
cannot but know, that the right of the freeholders 
to adhere to their choice (even supposing it im- 
properly exerted) was as clear and indisputable 
as that of the house of commons to exclude one of 
their own members. Nor is it possible for you not 
to see the wide distance there is between the nega- 
tive power of rejecting one man, and the positive 
power of appointing another. The right of ex- 
pulsion, in the most favourable sense, is no more 
than the custom of parliament. The right of elec- 
tion is the very essence of the constitution. To vio- 
late that right and much more to transler it to any 

* Sir Fletcher Norton, when it was proposed to punish 
the sherifl's, declared in the house of commons, that they, in 
rt'turnrngf jMr. Wilkes* had dene vo more tlian their dutjf. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 77 

ather set of men, is a step leading immediately to the 
dissolution of all government. So far forth at it 
operates, it constitutes a house of commons Avhlch 
does not represent the people. A house of commons 
so formed would involve a contradiction, and the 
grossest confusion of ideas : but there are some 
ministers, my lord, whose views can only be answer- 
ed by reconciling absurdities, and making the same 
proposition, which is false and absurd in argument, 
true in fact. 

This measure, my lord, is, however, attended with 
one consequence favourable to the people, which 
I am persuaded you did not foresee.* While the 
contest lay between the ministry and Mr. Wilkes, 
his situation and private character gave you advan- 
tages over him, which common candour, if not th** 
memory of your former friendship, should hav*. 
forbidden you to make use of. To religious mep 
you had an opportunity of exaggerating the irregu- 
larities of his past life ; to moderate men you held 
forth the pernicious consequences of faction. Men 
who, witn this character, looked no farther than 
to the object before them, were not dissatisfied at 
seeing Mr. Wilkes excluded from parliament. You 
have now taken care to shift the question ; or rather, 
you have created a new one, in whicii Mr. Wilkes is 
no more concerned than any other English gentle- 
man. You have united this country against you on 
one grand constitutional point, on the decision of 
which our existence, as a free people, absolutely de- 
pends. You have asserted, not in words, but in fact, 

• The reader Is desired to mark ths.s projiliecv. 



78 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

that the representation in parliament does not depend 
upon the choice of the freeholders. If such a case 
can possibly happen once, it may happen frequently ; 
it may happen always : and if three hundred votes, 
by any mode of reasoning whatever, can prevail 
against twelve hundred, the same reasoning would 
equally have given Mr. Luttrell his seat with ten 
votes, or even with one. The consequences of this 
attack upon the constitution are too plain and 
palpable, not to alarm the dullest apprehension. I 
trust you will find that the people of England are 
neither deficient in spirit or understanding; though 
you have treated tiiem as if they had neither sense to 
feel nor spirit to resent. We have reason to thank 
God and our ancestors, that there never yet was a 
minister in this country who could stand the issue oJ 
such a conflict; and, with every prejudice in favour 
of your intentions, I see no such abilities in your 
grace, as should enable you to succeed in an enter- 
prise, in which the ablest and basest of your prede- 
cessors have found their destruction. You may con- 
tinue to deceive your gracious master with false 
representations of the temper and condition of his 
subjects: you may command a venal vote, because 
it is the common established appendage of your 
office : but never hope that the freeholders will make 
a tame surrender of their rights; or, that an Englisii 
army will join with you in overturning the liberties 
of tlieir country. They know, that their first dutyj 
as citizens, is paramount to all subsequent engage- 
ments : nor will they prefer tiie discipline, or even 
the honours of their profession, to those sacred origi- 
Dil right? wliirh bcio iged to ihrni before they wert 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 79 

ftoldiers, and which they claim and possess as the 
birth-right of Englishmen. 

Return, my lord, before it be too late, to that easy 
insipid system which you first set out with. Take 
back your mistress.* The name of friend may be 
fatal to her, for it leads to treachery and persecution. 
Indulge the people. Attend Newmarket. Mr. Lut- 
trell may again vacate his seat ; and Mr. Wilkes, 
if not persecuted, will soon be forgotten. To be 
weak and inactive is safer than to be daring and 
criminal ; and wide is the distance between a riot 
of the populace and a convulsion of the whole king- 
dom. You may live to make the experiment, but no 
honest man can wish you should survive it. 

JUNIUS. 



XII. 



To his Cirace the Duke of Grafton, 

MY LORD, May 30, 1769- 

If the measures in which you have been most suc- 
cessful had been supported by any tolerable appear- 
ance of argument, I should have thought my time 
not ill employed in continuing to examnie your 

• The duke, about this time, had separated himself from 
Anne Parsons ; but proposed to coiitinive milted with her 
on some platonic terms of friendship, which she rejected 
with contempt. H's baseness to this woman is beyond de- 
scriplivni or belief 



80 JUNIUS'S LEITERS. 

conduct as a minister, and stating it fairly to the 
public- But when I see questions of the highest 
national importance carried as they have been, and 
the first principles of the constitution openly vio- 
lated, without argument or decency, I confess I give 
up the cause in despair. The meanest of your pre- 
decessors had abilities sufficient to give a colour to 
their measures. If they invaded the rights of the 
people, they did not dare to offer a direct insult to 
their understanding ; and, in former times, the mosl 
venal parliaments made it a condition, in their bar- 
gain with the minister, tiiat he should furnish them 
with some plausible pretences for selling their coun- 
try and themselves. You have had the merit of in- 
troducing a more compendious system of government 
and logic. You neither address yourself u\ the pas- 
sions nor the understanding, but simply to uie touch. 
You apply yourself immediately to the feelings of 
your friends; who, contrary to the forms of parlia- 
ment, never enter heartily into a debate until they 
have divided. 

Relinquishing, therefore, all idle views of amend- 
ment to your grace,' or of benefit to the public, let 
me be permitted to consider your character and con- 
duct, merely as a subject of c.irious speculation. 
There is something in both which distinguishes you, 
not only from all other ministers, but all other men. 
It is not that you do wrong by design, but that you 
should never do right by mistake. It is not that 
your indolence and your activity have been equally 
misapplied, but that the first uniform principle, or, it 
I may call it, the genius of your life, should have 
carried you through every possible change and con- 



JUNIUS S LETTERS. 81 

tradiction of conduct, without the momentary impu- 
tation or colour of a virtue ; and that the wildest 
spirit of inconsistency should never once have betrayed 
you into a wise or honourable action. This, I own, 
f^ives an air of singularity to your fortune, as well as 
to your disposition. Let us look back, together, to 
a scene, in which a mind like yours will find nothing 
to repent of Let us try, my lord, how well ymi 
have supported the various relations in which you 
stood to your sovereign, your country, your friends, 
and yourself. Give us, if it be possible, some excuse 
to posterity and to ourselves, for submitting to your 
administration. If not the abilities of a great minis- 
ter, if not the integrity of a patriot, or the fidelity of 
a friend, show us, at least, the firmness of a man. 
For the sake of your mistress, the lover shall be 
spared. I will not lead her into public, as you have 
done ; nor will I insult the memory of departed 
beauty. Her sex, which alone made her amiable in 
your eyes, makes her respectable in mine. 

The character of the reputed ancestors of some 
men has made it possible for their descendants to be 
vicious in the extreme, without being degenerate. 
Those ot your grace, for instance, left no distressing 
examples of virtue even to their legitimi^ posterity : 
and you may look back with pleasure to an illustri- 
ous pedigree, in which heraldry has not left a single 
good quality upon record to insult or upbraid you. 
You have better proofs of your descent, my lord, than 
the register of a marriage, or any troublesome in- 
heritance of reputation. There are some hereditary 
strokes of character, by which a family may be as 
clearly distinguished, as hv the blackest features of 
1) ' ■ f- 



62 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

the human face. Charles the First lived and died a 
hypocrite. Charles the Second \^as a hypocrite of 
another sort, and should have died upon the same 
scaffold. At the distance of a century, we see theii 
different characters happily revivetl and blended it) 
your grace. Sullen and severe witht :t relii^ion, 
profligate vi'ithout gayety, you live like Charics the 
Second, without being an an)iable companion ; and, 
for aught I know, may die as liis father di;l, v, iihout 
the reputation of a martyr. 

You had already taken your degrees with credit, 
n those schools in which the English nobility are 
formed to virtue, when you were introduced to 
lord Chatham's protection.* From Newmarket, 
White's, and the opposition, lie gave you to the 
world with an air of popularity, wliich young men 
usually set out with, and seldom |jreserve : grave 
and plausible enough to be thought fit for business ; 
too young for treachery ; and, in short, a patriot of 
no inipromising expectations. Lord Chatham was 
the earliest object of your political wonder and at- 
tachment ; yet 3'ou deserted him, upon the first 
hopes that offered of an equal share of power with 
lord Rockingham. When the late duke of Cumber- 
land's first negotiation failed, and when the fa 
vourite was pushed to the last extremity, you saved 
him, by joining with an administration, in which 
lord Chatham had refused to engage. Still, how 

* To understand these passages, the reader is referre(/ 
to a noted pamphlet, called ' The History of the Mi 
norny.* 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 83 

ever, he was you^r friend: and you are yet t 3X~ 
plain to the world, wlij' you consented to act >^ith- 
out him : or why, after uniting with lord Rocking- 
ham, you deserted and betrayed him. You com- 
plained that no measures were taken to \tisfy your 
patron ; and that your friend, M'- , who had 

suffered so much for the party, '^ .. .jcen abandoned 
to his fate. They have since contributed, not a 
little, to your present plenitude of power ; yet, I 
think, lord Chatham has less reason than ever to be 
satisfied : and, as for Mr. Wilkes, it is, perhaps, 
the greatest misfortune of his life, that you should 
have so many compensations to make in the closet 
for your former friendship with him. Your gracious 
master understands your character, and makes you 
a persecutor, because you have been a friend. 

Lord Chatliam formed his last administration 
upon principles which you certainly concurred in, or 
you could never have been placed at the head oi 
the treasury. By deserting those principles, or by 
acting in direct contradiction to them, in which he 
found you were secretly supported in the closet, 
you soon forced him to leave you to 3 ourself, and 
to withdraw his name from an administration which 
had been formed on the credit of it. You had then 
a prospect of friendships better suited to your ge- 
nius, and more likely to fix yoiu' disposition. ]\Iar- 
.♦iage is the point on which every rake is stationary 
at last : and truly, my lord, you may well be weary 
of the circuit you have taken ; for you have now 
fairly travelled through every sign in the politicaj 
rodiac, from the scorpion, in which you stung lord 



84 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

Chathan.^ to the hopes of a virgin* in the house at 
BJoomsbury. One would think that you had had 
sufficient experience of the frailty of nuptial en- 
gagements, or, at least, that such a friendship aa 
the duke of Bedford's might have been secured to 
you by thi '^'is marriage of your late duchesst 

with his nepht J t ties of this tender nature 

cannot be drawn too close ; and it may possibly 
be a part of the duke of Bedford's ambition, after 
making her an honest woman, to work a miracle 
of the same sort upon your grace. This worthy 
nobleman has long dealt in virtue: there has been 
a large consumption of it in his own family ; and, 
in the way of traffic, I dare say, he has bought and 
sold more than half the representative integrity of the 
nation. 

In a political view, this union is not imprudent. 
The favour of princes is a perishable commodity. 
You have now a strength sufficient to comu)and the 
closet, and if it be necessary to betray one friend- 
ship more, you may set even lord Bute at defiance. 
Mr. Stewart M'Kenzie may possibly remember what 
use the duke of Bedford usually makes of his power; 
and our gracious sovereign, I doubt not, rejoices at 
this first appearance of union among his servants. 
His late majesty, under the happy influence of a 
{amily connexion between his ministers, was re- 



• His grace had lately manied miss Wrottesly, niece of 
the good Gertrude, duchess of Bedford. 

t Miss Liddel, ^fter her divorce from tli*- duke, married 
lord Unper Ossory. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 8£ 

iieved from the cares of the government. A more 
active prince may, perhaps, observe with suspicion 
by what degrees au artful servant grows upon his 
master, from the first unlimited professions of duty 
and attachment, to the painful representation oi 
the necessity of the royal service, and soon, in regu- 
lar progression, to the humble insolence of dictating 
in all the obsequious forms of peremptory submis- 
sion. The interval is carefully employed in forming 
connexions, creating interests, collecting a party, 
and laying the foundation of double marriages; un- 
til the deluded prince, who thought he had found a 
creature prostituted to his service, and insignificant 
enough to be always dependent upon his pleasure, 
finds him, at last, too strong to be commanded, and 
too formidable to be removed. 

Your grace's public conduct, as a minister, is but 
the counterpart of your private history ; the same 
inconsistency, the same contradictions. In America 
we trace you, from ^he first opposition to the stamp 
act, on principles of convenience, to Mr. Pitt's sur- 
render of the right ; then forward to lord Rocking- 
ham's surrender of the fact ; then back again to 
lord Rockingham's declaration of the right ; then 
forward to taxation with Mr. Townshend ; and, 
in the last instance, from the gentle Conway's un- 
determined discretion, to blood and compulsion 
with the duke of Bedford : yet, if we may believe 
the simplicity of lord North's eloquence, at the 
opening of the next session, you are once more to 
be the patron of America. Is this the wisdom of 
a r;reat minister, or is it the ominous vibration of 
!\ pendulum ? Had you no opinion of your own, my 



86 JUNIUS'S LKTTERS. 

lord? Or was it the gratification of betraying ever^ 
party with which you have been united, and of de- 
serting every political principle in which yon had 
concurred ? 

Your enemies may turn their eyes without regret 
from this admirable system of provincial government. 
They will find gratification enough in the survey of 
your domestic and foreign policy. 

If, instead of disowning lord Shelburne, the 
British court had interposed with dignity and firm- 
ness, you know, my lord, tliat Corsica would never 
have been invaded. The French saw the weakness 
of a distracted ministry, and were justified in treating 
you with contempt. They would probabi}' have 
yielded, in the first instance, rather than hazard a 
rupture with this country ; but, being once engaged, 
they cannot retreat without dishonour. Conniion 
sense foresees consequences which have escaped 
your gra<. e's p'^netration. Either we sufl'er the 
French to make an acquisition, the importance of 
which you have probably no conception of; or we 
oppose them by an underhand management, which 
only disgraces us in the eyes of Europe, without 
answering any purpose of policy or prudence. From 
secret, indirect assistance, a transition to some 
more open, decisive measures, becomes unavoidable j 
till, at last, we find ourselves principal in the war, 
and are obliged to hazard every thing for an ob- 
ject, which might have originally been obtained 
without expense or danger. I am not versed in the 
politics of the north ; but this, I believe, is certain ; 
that half the money you have distributed to carr} 
the pxpulsion of ]\Ii-. Wilkes, or even your secrcta 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 8T 

ry*s share in the hist subscription, would have kept 
the Turks at your devotion. Was it economy, my 
lord ? or did the coy resistance you have constantly 
met with in the British senate make you despair of 
corrupting- the divan ? Your friends, indeed, have 
tile first claim upon your bounty : but if 500Z. a year 
can be spared in pension to Sir John Moore, it 
woidd not have disgraced you to have allowed some- 
thing to the secret service of the public. 

You will say, porhaj)s, that the situation of affairs 
at home demanded and engrossed the whole of your 
attention. Here, I confess, you have been active. 
An amiable, acco;nplished prince, ascends the throne 
under tlie happiest of al! auspices, the acclamations 
and united affections of his subjects. The first 
measures of his reign, and even the odium of a fa- 
vourite, were not able to shake their attachment. 
Your services, my lord, have been more successful 
Since you were permitted to take the lead, we have 
seen the natural efiects of a system of government 
at once both odious and contemptible. We have 
seen the laws sometimes scandalously relaxed, jiome- 
limes violently stretched beyond tlieir tone. We 
have seen the person of the sovereign insulted ; and, 
in profound peace, and witli an undisputed title, 
the fidelity of his subjects brought by his own ser- 
vants into public question.* Without abilities, reso- 

* The wise duke, about this time, exerted nil the inlhi- 
ence of government to j)rucure addresses to satisfy the king 
of the fidelity of his subjects. Tiiey came in very thick 
frv/vn Scotland ; but, after th= appearance of this letter, we 
heard no more of tlieni. 



68 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

lution, or interest, you have done more than lord 
Bute could accomplish, with all Scotland at his 
lieels. 

Your grace, little anxious, perhaps, either for 
present or future reputation, will not desire to be 
handed down in these colours to posterity, li^ou 
have reason to flatter yourself, that the memory of 
your administration will survive, even the forms oi 
a constitution, which our ancestors vainly hoped 
would be immortal ; and, as for your personal char- 
acter, I will not, for tlie honour of human nature, 
suppose that you can wish to have it remembered. 
The condition of the present times is desperate in- 
deed ; but there is a debt due to those who come 
after us ; and it is the historian's office to punish^ 
though he cannot correct. I do not give you to 
posterity as a pattern to imitate, but as an example 
to deter ; and as your conduct comprehends every 
tiling that a wise or hoiest minister should avoid, I 
mean to make you a negative instruction to yoiu 
successors for ever 

JUNI17S. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 89 



XIIT. 

Addressed to the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, June 12, 1769- 

The duke of Grafton's friends, not finding it con- 
venient to enter into a contest with Junius, are 
now reduced to the last melancholy resource of de- 
feated argument, the flat general charge of scur- 
rility and falsehood. As for his style, I shall leave 
it to the critics. The truth of his facts is of more 
unportance to the public. They are of such a na- 
ture, that I think a bare contradiction will have no 
weight with any man who judges for himself. Lei 
us take them in the order in which they appear in 
his last letter. 

L Have not the first rights of the people, and the 
first principles of the constitution, been openly in- 
vaded, and the very name of an election made 
ridiculous, by tlu arbitrary appointment of Mr. 
Lutirell .'' 

2. Did not the duke of Grafton frequently lead 
his mistress into public, and even place her at the 
head of his table, as if he had pulled down an an- 
cient temple of Venus, and could bury all decency 
and shame under the ruins .'' Is this the man who 
dares to talk of Mr. Wilkes's morals ? 

3. Is not the character of his presumptive ances- 
tors as strongly marked in him, as if he had de- 
scended from them in a direct letrili'nate line ? The 



90 JUNIUS'S r.ETTERS 

idea of his death is only prophetic ; and what ie 
prophecy but a narrative j)recedinj^ the fact ? 

4. Was not lord Chatham the first who raised him 
o tljc rank and post of a minister, and the first 

whom he abandoned ? 

5. Did he not join with lord Rockingham, arid 
betray him ? 

6. Was he not the bosom friend of Mr. Wilkes, 
whom he now pursues to destruction ? 

7. Did he not take his degrees with credit at 
Newmarket, White's, and the opposition ? 

8. After deserting lord Chatham's principles, and 
sacrificing his friendship, is he not now closely 
united with a set of men, who, though they have 
occasionally joined with all parties, have, in every 
dili'ereni situation, and at all times, been equall}^ and 
constantly detested by this country ? 

9. Has not sir John Moore a pension of five 
hundred pounds a year ? This may probably be an 
acquittance of favours upon the turf: but is it pos- 
sible for a minister to offer a grosser outrage to a 
nation, which has so very lately cleared away the 
beggary of the civil list, at the expense of more than 
half a million ? 

10. Is there any one mode of thinking or acting 
with respect to America, which the duke of Grafton 
has not successively adopted and abandoned .'' 

11. Is there not a singular mark of shame set 
upon this man, who has so little delicacy and feel- 
ing, as to submit to the opprobrium of marrying a 
near relation of one who had debauched his wife .^ 
In the name of dt'ccncy, how are these amiable 
cousins to uicet at their jncle's ta!)le ^ It will be a 



JUNILS'S LETTERS. 91 

scene in ffiuipus, without tlie distress. Is it wealth 
or wit, or beauty ? Or is the aiuorous 3 outh in 
love ? 

The rest is notorious. That Corsica has been sa- 
crificed to the French ; tiiat, in some instances, tiie 
laws have been scandalously relaxed, and, in others, 
daringly violated ; and that the king's subjects have 
been called upon to assure him of their fidelity, in 
spite of the measures of his servants. 

A writer, wlio builds his arguments upon facts 
such as these, is not easily to be confuted. He is not 
to be answered by general assertions or general re- 
proaches. He may want eloquence to amuse and 
persuade ; but, speaking truth, he must always 



convince. 



PHILO JUNUJS 



XIV. 



Addressed to the Printer of the Public Advertiser 

SIR, June 22, IJOO. 

The name of Old JVoll is destined to be the ruin 
of the house of Stuart. There is an ominous fatalit\ 
an it. which even the spurious descendants of the 
family cannot escape. Oliver Cromwell had the 
merit of conducting Cliarles the First to the block. 
Your correspondent, Old JYoU, ajipears to have the 
same design upon the duke of Grafton. His argu- 
ments consist bettor with the title he has assumed 
than with the priii<ij)!es he profosses : for «!iougl 



92 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

he pretends to be an advocate for the duke, he 
takes care to give us the best reason why his patron 
should regularly follow the fate of his presumptive 
ancestor. Through the whole course of the duke 
of Grafton's life, I see a strange endeavour to unite 
i;ontradictions which cannot be reconciled. He 
marries, to be divorced ; he keeps a mistress, to 
remind him of conjugal endearments ; and he chooses 
such friends as it is a virtue in him to desert. 
If it were possible for the genius of that accomplish- 
ed president, who pronounced sentence upon Charles 
the First, to be revived in some modern sycophant,* 
his grace, I doubt not, would by sympathy discover 
him among the dregs of mankind, and take him for 
a guide in those paths which naturally conduct a 
minister to the scaffold. 

The assertion that two-thirds of the nation ap- 
prove of the acceptance of Mr. LuttreJl (for even 
Old JSToll is too modest to call it an election) can 
neither be maintained nor confuted by argument, 
[t is a point of fact, on which every English gentle- 
man will determine for himself. As to lawyers, 
their profession is supported by the indiscriminate 
defence of right and wrong; and I confess I have 
not that opinion of their knowledge or integrity, to 
think it necessary that they should decide for me 
upon a plain constitutional question. With respect 
to the appointment of Mr. Luttrell, the chancellor 
has never yet given any authentic opinion. Sir 



• It is hardly necessar} tc rfinind the reader ol the nams 
)f Bradifhavi. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 9S 

Fletcher Norton is, in-deed, an honest, a very honest 
man ; and the attorney-general is ex officio the guar- 
dian of liberty ; to take care, I presume, t.iat it shall 
never break out into a criminal excess. Doctor 
Blackslone is solicitor to the queen. Thv. doctor 
recollected that he had a place to preserve, 'hough 
he forgot that he had a reputation to lose. We have 
now the good fortune to understand the doctor's 
principles as well as writings. For the defence ol 
truth, of law, and reason, the doctor's book may be 
safely consulted ; but whoever wishes to cheat a 
neighbour of his estate, or to rob a country of its rights, 
need make no scruple of consulting the doctor himself. 
The example of the English nobility niaj', for 
aught I know, sufficiently justify the duke of Graf- 
Ion, when he indulges his genius in all the fashion- 
able excesses of the age ; yet, considering his rank 
and station, I think it would do him more honour 
to be able to deny the fact, than to defend it by 
such authority. But if vice itself could be excused, 
there is yet a certain display of it, a certain outrage 
to decency, and violation of public decorum, which, 
for the benefit of society, should never be forgiven. 
It is not that he kept a mistress at home, but that 
he constantly attended her abroad. It is not the 
private indulgence, but the public insult, of which 
I complain. The name of miss Parsons would hardly 
have been known, if the first lord of the treasury 
had not led her in triumph through the opera-house, 
even in the presence of the queen. When we see a 
man act in this manner, we may admit the shame- 
less depravity of his heart ; but what are we to think 
of his understanding ,'' 



94 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

H & grace, it seems, is now to be a regular, do* 
mestic man and, as an omen of the futnre delicacy 
and correctness of his conduct, he marries a first 
cousin of the man who had fixed that mark and 
title of infamy upon him, which, at the same nio- 
ment, makes a husband unhappy and ridiculous. 
The ties of consanguinity may possibly preserve 
him from the same fate a second time ; and as to 
the distress of meeting, I take for granted, the ven- 
erable uncle of these common cousins has settled 
the etiquette in such a manner, that, if a mistake 
should happen, it may reach no farther than from 
madame ma femme to madame ma cousme. 

The duke of Grafton has always some excellent 
"eason for deserting his friends : the age and inca- 
pacity of lord Chatham, the debility of lord Rock- 
nigham, or the infamy of Mr. Wilkes. There was 
a time, indeed, when he did not appear to be quite 
as well acquainted, or so violently offended, with 
the infirmities of his friends : but now I confess 
they are not ill exchanged for the youthful, vigorous 
virtue of the duke of Bedford ; the firmness ol 
general Conway ; the blunt, or, if I may call it, the 
awkward integrit}"^ of Mr. Rigby ; and the spotless 
morality of lord Sandwich. 

If a late pension to a broken gambler* be an act 
worthy of commendation, the duke of Grafton's 
connexions will furnish him with man}' opportunities 
of do'ng praiseworthy actions; and as he himself 
bears no part of the expense, the gcnerosiiy of distri- 
buti/ig the public money for the support of virtuou* 

* Sii John Moore. 



JlJNltS'S LETTERS. 96 

'amilies in distress, will be an unquestionable proOi 
of his grace's humanity. 

As to public affairs, Old JVoIl is a little tender o. 
descending to particulars. He does not deny that 
Corsica has been sacrificed to France ; and he con- 
fesses that, with regard to America, his patron's 
measures have been subject to some variation : but 
tiien he promises wonders of stability and firmness 
for the future. These are mj^steries, of which we 
must not pr^'tend to judge by experience ; and 
truly, I fear we shall perish in the desert, before we 
arrive at the land of promise. In the regular course 
of things, the period of the duke of Grafton's minis- 
terial manhood should now be approaching. The 
•mbecility of his infant state was committed to lord 
Chatham. Charles Townshend took some care ol 
his education at that ambiguous age, which lies be- 
tween the follies of political childhood and the vices 
of puberty. The empire of the passions soon suc- 
ceeded. His earliest principles and connexions were 
of course forgotten or despised. The company he 
has lately kept has been of no service to his morals ; 
and, in the conduct of public affairs, we see the 
character of his time of life strongly distinguished. 
An obstinate, ungovernable self-sufficiency plainly 
points out to us that state of imperfect maturity at 
which the graceful levity of youth is lost, and the 
solidity of experience not yet acquired. It is pos- 
sible the young man may, in time, grow wiser, and 
reform ; but if I understand his disposition, it is not 
of such corrigible stuff that we should iiope for any 
amendment in him, before he has accomplished the 



96 Jl NIUS'S LETTERS. 

des uciion of his country. Like other rakes, he 
ma^. perliaps, live to see his error, but not until he 
has runied his estate. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



XV. 

Fo his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, July 8, 1769. 

If nature had given you an understanding quali 
fied to keep pace with the wishes and principles ol 
your heart, she would have made you, perhaps, the 
most formidable minister that ever was employed, 
under a limited monarch, to accomplish the ruin 
of a free people. When neither the feelings oJ 
shame, the reproaches of conscience, nor the dread 
of punishment, form any bar to the designs of a 
minister, the people would have too much reason 
to lament their condition, if they did not find some 
resource in the weakness of his understanding. We 
owe it to the bounty of Providence, that the com- 
pletes! depravity of the heart is sometimes strangely 
united with a confusion of the mind, which coun- 
teracts the most favourite principles, and makes the 
same man treacherous without art, and a hypocrite 
wilhout deceiving. The measures, for instance, in 
which your grace's activity has been chiefly exerted 
as they were adopted without skill, should have 
been conducted with more than common dexterity 
But truly, my lord, (lie execution has been as grost 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 07 

as the design. By one decisive step yod have de- 
feated all the arts of writing. You have fairly con- 
founded the intrigues of opposition, and siVnced 
ihe clamours of faction. A dark, ambiguous system 
might require and furnish the materials of inge- 
nious illustration ; and, in doubtful measures, the 
virulent exaggeration of party must be employed to 
rouse and engage the passions of the people. You 
have now brought the merits of your administration 
to an issue, on which every Englishman, of the nar- 
rowest capacity, may determine for himself: it is 
<iot an alarm to the passions, but a calm appeal to 
•he judgment of the people, upon their own most 
rssential interests. A more experienced minister 
would not have hazarded a direct invasion of the 
first principles of the constitution, before he had 
made some progress in subduing the spirit of the 
people. With such a cause as yours, my lord, it is 
s.ot suiucicnt that you have the court at your devo- 
»ii)ij, unless j-ou can find means to corrupt or intimi- 
date t'.ie jury. The collective body of the people 
form that jury, and from their decision there is but 
one appeal. 

Whether you have talents to support you, at a 
crisis of such difficulty and danger, should long 
fince liave been considered. Judging truly of your 
disposition, yoa have, perhaps, mistaken the extent 
of your capacity. Good faith and folly have so long 
been received as synonymous terms, that the reverse 
of the proposition has grown into credit, and every 
villain fancies himself a man of. abilities. It is tiie 
apprehension of your friends, my lord, that you 
ha\e drawn some hastv <'on<losioii of ihis sort, ni'.d 



98 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ihat a partial reliance upon your moral character hat 
betrayed you beyond the depth of your understand- 
ing. You have now carried things too far to retreat. 
You have plainly declared to the people what they 
are to expect from the continuance of your adminis- 
tration. It is time for your grace to consider wnat 
you also may expect in return from their spirit and 
their resentment. 

Since the accession of our most gracious sovereign 
to the throne, we have seen a system of government 
which may well be called a reign of experiments. 
Parlies of all denominations have been employed and 
dismissed. The advice of the ablest men in this 
country has been repeatedly called for, and rejected ; 
and when the royal displeasure has been signified to 
a minister, the marks of it have usually been propor- 
tioned to his abilities and integrity. The spirit of 
the favourite had some apparent influence upon 
ev&cy administration ; and every set of ministers 
preserved an appearance of duration as long as they 
submitted to that influence. But there were certain 
services to be performed for the favourite's security, 
or to gratify his resentments, which your predeces- 
sors in office had the wisdom or the virtue not to 
undertake. The moment this. refractory spirit was 
discovered, their disgrace was determined. Lord 
Chatham, Mr. Grenville, and lord Rockingl)am, 
have successively had ihe honour to be dismissed for 
preferring their duty as servants of the public to 
those compliances which were expected from their 
station. A submissive administration was at last 
gradually collected from the deserters of all parties, 
interests^ and connexions : and nothing remained 



JUINIUS'S LETTERS. 9U 

' at to find a leader for these gallant, well-disciplined 
tro jps. Stand forth, my lord j for thou art the man. 
Lord Bute found no resource of dependence or secu- 
rity in the proud, imposing superiority of lord Chat- 
ham's abilities ; the shrewd, inflexible judgment o( 
Mr. Grenville 5 nor in the mild but determined in- 
tegrity of lord Rockingham. His views and situation 
required a creature void of all these properties ; and 
he was forced to go through every division, resolu- 
tion, composition, and refinement of political chemis- 
try, before he happily arrived at the caput mortuum 
of vitriol in your grace. Flat and insipid in your 
retired state ; but, brought into action, you become 
vitriol again. Such are the extremes of alternate 
indolence or (uvy, which have governed your whole 
administration. Your circumstances, with regard 
to the people, soon becoming desperate, like other 
honest servants, you determined to involve the 
best of masters in the same difficulties with yourself 
We owe it to your grace's well-directed labours, 
that your sovereign lias been persuaded to doubt 
of the afl'ections of his subjects, and the people to 
suspect the virtues of their sovereign, at a time when 
both were unquestionable. You have degraded the 
royal dignity into a base and dishonourable compe- 
tition with Mr. Wilkes : nor had you abilities to 
carry even the last contemptible triumph over a 
private man, without the grossest violation of the 
fundamental laws of the constitution and rights of 
the people. But these are rights, my lord, which 
you can no more annihilate, tlian you can the soil 
to which they are annexed. The question no longei 
lurtis upon points of national honour and securit} 



100 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

abroad, or on the degrees of expedience and propr 
ety of measures at home. It was not inconsis' 3nt 
that you should abandon the cause of liberty, in 
another country, which you had persecuted in your 
own : and, in the common arts of domestic corrup- 
tion, we miss no part of sir Robert Walpole's system, 
except liis abilities. In this humble, imitative line, 
you might long have proceeded safe and contempt- 
ible. You might probably never have risen to the 
dignity of being hated, and even have been despised 
with moderation. But it seems you meant to lie dis- 
tinguished ; and, to a mind like yours, there was no 
other road to fame but by the destruction of a noble 
fabric, which you thought had been too long the 
admiration of mankind. The use you have made 
of the military force introduced an alarming change 
in the mode of executing the laws. The arbitrary 
appointment of Mr. Luttrel! invades the foundation 
of the laws themselves, as it manifestly transfers 
the right of legislation from those whom the people 
have chosen, to those whom they have rejected. 
With a succession of such appointments, we may 
soon see a house of commons collected, in the choice 
of which the other towns and counties of England 
will have as little sliare as the devoted county of 
Middlesex. 

Yet I trust your grace will find that the people of 
this country are neither to be intimidated by violent 
measures, nor deceived by refinements. When tiiey 
see Mr. Luttrell seated in the house of commons, 
by mere dint of power, and in direct opposition to 
the choice of a whole county, they will not listen to 
•I'.ose subtilties by which every arbitrary exorti(Mi 



JUNIUS'S LL TIERS 101 

of authority is explained into the law and privilege 
of parliament. Jt requires no persuasion of argu- 
ment, but simply the evidence of the senses, to con- 
vince them, that, to transfer the right of election 
from the collective to the representative body ol 
the people, contradicts all those ideas of a house Oi 
commons which they have received from their fore- 
fathers, and which they had already, though vainly, 
perhaps, delivered to their children. The princi])les 
on which this violent measure has been defended 
have added scorn to injury, and forced us to feel 
that we are not only oppressed, but insulted. 

With what force, my lord, with what protection, 
are you prepared to meet the united detestation of 
the people of England ^ The city of London has 
given a generous example to the kingdom, in what 
manner a king of this country ought to be ad- 
dressed : and I fancy, my lord, it is not yet in 
your courage to stand between your sovereign and 
the addresses of his subjects. The injuries you 
have done this country are such as demand not 
only redress, but vengeance. In vain shall you 
look for protection to that venal vote which you 
have already paid for : another must be purchased ; 
and, to save a minister, the house of commons 
must declare themselves not only independent of 
their constituents, but the determined enemies of 
ihe constitution Consider my lord, whether this 
be an extremity to which thejr fears will permit 
them to advance : or, if their protection should 
fail you, how far you are authorised to rely upon 
the sincerity of those smiles, which a pious court 
lavishes without rehutance upon a libertine by pro- 



102 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

fession. It is not, indeed, the Jeast of the thvJusand 
contradictions which attend you, that a man, marked 
to the world by the grossest violation of all cere- 
mony and decorum, should be the first servant of a 
court, in which prayers are morality, and kneeling is 
religion. 

Trust not too far to appearances, by which your 
predecessors have been deceived, though they have 
not been injured. Even the best of princes may at 
last discover, that this is a contention in which 
every thing may be lost, but nothing can be gained : 
and, as you became minister by accident, were 
adopted without choice, trusted without confidence, 
and continued without favour, be assured, tha^ 
whenever an occasion presses, you will be discarded 
without even the forms of regret. You will thei 
have reason to be thankful, if you are permitted ti 
retire to that seat of learning, which, in contem 
plation of the system of your life, the comparativu 
purity of your manners with those of their higU 
steward, and a thousand other recommending cir- 
cumstances, has chosen you to encourage the grow- 
ing virtue of their youth, and to preside over their 
education. Whenever the spirit of distributing 
prebends and bishoprics shall have departed from 
you, you will find that learned seminary perfectly 
recovered from the delirium of an installation, and, 
what in trith it ought to be, once more a peaceful 
scene of slumber and thoughtless meditation. The 
venerable tutors of the university will no longer 
distress your modesty, by proposing you for a pat- 
tern to their pupils. The learned dulness of dec-" 
lamation will be silent; and even the venal mus« ;, 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 03 

lliough happiest in fiction, will forget your \ rtues. 
Yet, for the benefit of the succeeding age. I could 
(vish that your retreat might be deferred until your 
morals shall happily be ripened to that maturity of 
corruption, at which the worst examples cease to be 
contagious. 

JUNIUS 



XVI. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, July 19, 17G9. 

A. great deal of useless argument might have 
been saved, in the political contest which has arisen 
from the expulsion of Mr. Wilkes, and the subse- 
quent appointment of Mr. Luttrell, if the question 
had been once stated with precision, to the satis- 
faction of each party, and clearly understood by 
them both. But in this, as in almost evey other 
dispute. It usually happens that much time is lost 
in referrmg to a multitude of cases and precedents, 
which prove nothing to the purpose ; or in main- 
taining propositions, which are either not disputed, 
or, whether they be admitted or denied, are entirely 
indifferent as to the matter in debate ; until at last, 
the mind, perplexed and confounded with the end- 
less subtilties of controversy, loses sight of the main 
questi jn, and never arrives at truth. Both parties 
in the dispute are aot enough to practise these dis- 



t04 JUIS'lUS'S LETTERS. 

honest artifices. The man who is conscious (»f th€ 
weakness of his cuuse is interested in concealing it: 
and, on the other side, it is not uncommon to see a 
pjo^d cause mangled by advocates, who do not know 
Uie real strength of it. 

1 should be glad to know, for instance, to what 
purpose, in the present case, so many precedents 
have been produced, to prove that the house of 
commons have a right to expel one of their own 
members ; that it belongs to them to judge of the 
validity of elections ; or that the law of parliament 
is part of the law of the land ?* After all these 
propositions are admitted, Mr. Luttrell's right to 
his seat will continue to be just as disputable as it 
was before. Not one of them is at present in agita- 
tion. Let it be admitted that the house of com- 
mons were authorised to expel Mr. Wilkes, that they 
are the proper court to judge of elections, and that 
the law of parliament is binding upon the people ; 
still it remains to be inquired, whether the house, 
by their resolution in favour of Mr. Luttrell, have, 
or have not, truly declared that law. To facilitate 
this inqury, I would have the question cleared of 
all foreign or indifTerent matter. The following 
state of it 'rill probably be thought a fair one by 
uoui parties; and then I imagine there is no gen- 
tleman in this country who will not be capable of 
forming a judicious and true opinion jpon 't. I 



• Tlie reader will observe, that these admissions are made, 
not as of truths unquestionable, but for the sake of argu 
mrnt, aud '\ order to bring th'^ '•eal question to issue- 



JUNILS'S LETTERS. iOS 

take the question to be strictly this : " Whether oj 
no it be the known, establislied hiw of parliament, 
tliat the expulsion of a member of the house oi 
commons, of itself creates in him such an incapacity 
to be re-elected, that, at a subsequent election, any 
votes given to him are null and void j and that any 
other candidate, who, except the person expelled, 
lias the greatest number of votes, ought to be the 
sitting member." 

To prove that the affirmative is the law of par- 
liament, I apprehend it is not sufficient for the pre- 
sent house of commons to declare it to be so. We 
may shut our eyes, indeed, to the dangerous conse- 
quences of suflering one branch of the legislature 
to declare new laws without argument or example ; 
and it may, perhaps, be prudent enough to submit 
to authority ; but a mere assertion will never con- 
vince, much less will it be thought reasonable tc 
prove the right by the fact itself. The ministry 
have not yet pretended to such a tyranny over our 
minds. To support the affirmative fairly, it will 
either be necessary to produce some statute, in 
which that positive provision shall have been made, 
that specific disability clearly created, and the con- 
sequences cf it declared ; or, if there be no such 
statute, the custom of parliament must then be re- 
ferred to ; and some case or cases,* strictly in point, 
must be produced, with the decision of the court 



* Precedents, ii> opposition to principles, have Uttle 
weight with Junius ; but he tliouglit it necessary to meet 
the ministry upon tlieir own giound 

E 2 



lOa JUMUS'S LETTERS. 

upon thein ; for I readily admit, that the custom ol 
parliament, once cleK.rly proved, is equally binding 
with the common and statute law. 

The consideration of what may be reasonable or 
unreasonable, makes no part of this question. We 
are inquiring what the law is, not what it ought to 
be. Reason may be applied to show the impro- 
priety or expediency of a law ; bu we must have 
either statute or precedent to prove the existence 
of it. At the same time, I do not mean to admit 
that the late resolution of the house of commons is 
defensible on general principles of reason, any more 
than in law. This is not the hinge on which the 
debate turns. 

Supposing, therefore, that I have laid down aii 
accurate state of the question, I will venture to 
affirm, 1st, That there is no statute existing, by 
which that specific disability which we speak of is 
created. If there be, let it be produced. The ar- 
gument will then be at an end. 

2dly, That there is no precedent, in all the pro- 
ceedings of the house of commons, which comes 
entirely home to the present case, viz. " Where an 
expelled member has been returned again, and 
another candidate, with an infer/or number of votes, 
has been declared die sitting member." If there be 
such a precedent, let it be given to us plainly ; and 
[ am sure it will have more weight than all the 
cunning arguments which have been drawn from in 
ferences and probabilities. 

The ministry, in that laborious pamphlet, which, 
I presume, contains the whole strength of the party, 
Viave declared, " That Mr. Walpole's was the first 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. I07 

•ntf only instance in whicli the electors of any 
county or borough had returned a person expelled 
to serve in tJie same parliament." It is not possible 
to conceive a case more exactly in point. Mr. Wal- 
pole was expelled ; and, having a majority of votes 
at the next election, was returned again. The 
friends of Mr. Taylor, a candidate set up by the 
ministry, petitioned the house that he might be 
the sitting member. Thus far the circumstances 
tally exactly, except that our house of commons 
saved Mr. Luttrell the trouble of petitioning. The 
point of law, however, was the same. It came 
regularly before the house, and it was their busi- 
ness to determine upon it. They did determine it; 
for they declared Mr. Taylor not duly elected. It 
it be aaid, that they meant this resolution as matter 
of favour and indulgence to the borough, which had 
letorted Mr. VValpole upon them, in order that the 
burgesses, knowing what the law was, might correct 
their error, I answer, 

I. That it is a strange way of arguing, to oppose 
a supposition, whicii no man can prove, to a fact 
which proves itself. 

II. That if this were the intention of the house 
of commons, it must have defeated itself. The 
burgesses of Lynn could never have known their 
error, much less could they have corrected it by 
any instruction they received from the proceedings 
of the house of commons. Tliey might, perhaps, 
•nave foreseen, that if they returned Mr. Walpole 
dgain, he would again be rejected ; but they never 
could infer, from a resolution by which the can- 

idate with the fewest votes was declaref" ^^? dvlt^ 



108 JUNIUS'S LETJ'KRa. 

elected, that, at a future election, and in simila/ 
circumstances, the 1 ouse of commons would re- 
verse their resolution, and receive the same can- 
didate as duly elected, whom they liad before re- 
ected. 

This, indeed, would have been a most extraordi- 
nary way of declaring the law of parliament, and 
what, I presume, no man, whose understanding is 
not at cross purposes with itself, could possibly un- 
derstand. 

If, in a case of this importance, I thought myself 
at liberty to argue from suppositions rather than 
from facts, I think the probability, in this instance, 
is directly the reverse of what the ministry affirm ; 
and that it is much more likely that the house of 
commons, at that time, would rather have strained 
a point in favour of Mr. Taylor, than that they 
would have violated the law of parliament, and 
robbed Mr. Taylor of a right legally vested in him, 
to gratify a refractory borough, which, in defiance 
of them, had returned a person branded with the 
strongest mark of the displeasure of the house. 

But really, sir, this way of talking (for I cannot 
call it argument) is a mockery of the common un- 
derstanding of the nation, too gross to be endured. 
Our dearest interests are at stake. An attempt has 
been made, not merely to rob a single county of its 
rights, but, by inevitable consequence, to alter the 
constitution of the house of commons. This fatal 
attempt has succeeded, and stiuids as a precedent 
recorded for ever. If the ministry are unable to 
defend their cause by fair argument, founded on 
"acts, let them spare us, at least, the mortification 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. lOn 

of being amused and deluded, like children. 1 be- 
lieve there is yet a spirit of resistance in this country 
which will not submit to be oppressed ; but I am 
sure there is a fund of good sense in this country, 
which cannot be deceived. 

JUNIUS. 



XVII. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser, 

SIR, August 1, 17G9. 

It will not be necessary for Junius to take the 
trouble of answering your correspondent G. A. 01 
the quotation from a speech without doors, pub- 
lished in your paper of the 28th of last month. 
The speech appeared before Junius's letter ; and, 
as the author seems to consider the great proposi- 
tion on which all his argument depends, viz. that 
J\Ir. Wilkes was under that known legal incapacity 
of tvhich Junius speaks, as a point granted, his 
speech is in no shape an answer to Junius, for this 
is the very question in debate. 

As to G. A. I observe, first, that if he did not ad- 
mit Junius's state of the question, he should have 
shown the fallacy of it, or given us a more exact 
one ; secondly, that, considering the many hours 
itul days wliich tlie ministry and their advocates 



110 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

have wasted in public debate, iii compiling large 
quartos, and collecting innumerable precedents, ex- 
pressly to prove that the late proceedings of the 
house of commons are warranted by the law, cus- 
tom, and practice of parliament, it is rather an ex- 
traordinary supposition to be made by one of their 
own party, even for the sake of argument, that no 
such statute, no such custom of parliament, no such 
case in point, can be produced. G. A. may, however, 
make the supposition with safety. It contains 
notiiing but literally the fact ; except that there is 
a case exactly in point, with a decision of the 
house diametrically opposite to that which the 
present house of commons came to in favour of Mr. 
Luttrell. 

Tlie ministry now begin to be ashamed of the 
weakness of their cause ; and, as it usually liappens 
with falsehood, are driven to the necessity of shift- 
ing their ground, and changing their whole defence 
At first we were told, that nothing could be clearer 
than that the proceedings of the house of commons 
were justified by the known law and uniform cus- 
tom of parliament. But now, it seems, if there 
be no law, the house of commons have a right to 
make one; and if there be no precedent, they liave 
a right to create the first : for this, I presume, is 
ihe amount of the questions proposed to Junius. 
If your correspondent had been at all versed in the 
law of parliament, or generally in the laws of thiS 
country, he would have seen that this defence is as 
wrah and false as the former. 

The privileges of either house of pnrliament, it 
is true, are indefinite that is, they h.ive not been 



JUNIUS S LETTERS. Ill 

described or laid down in any one code or oeclara- 
lion whatsoever ; but, whenever a question of priv'- 
lege has arisen, ii has invariably been disputed or 
maintained upon the footing of precedents alone.* 
In the course of the proceedings upon the Ayles- 
bury election, the house of lords resolved, " Thai 
neither house of parliament had any power, by any 
vote or declaration, to create to themselves any new 
privilege, that was not warranted by the known 
laws and customs of parliament." And to this 
rule, the house of commons, though otherwise they 
had acted in a very arbitrary manner, gave their as- 
sent ; for they afiirmed that they had guided them- 
selves by it in asserting their privileges. Now, sir, 
if this be true, with respect to matters of privilege, 
in which the house of commons, individually, and 
as a body, are principally concerned, how much 
more strongly vvii) t hold against any pretendea 
power in that house to create or declare a new law, 
ny which not only the rights of the house over their 
own member, and those of the member himself 
are included, bat also those of a third and separate 
party ; I mean the freeholders of the kingdom ! To 
i!o justice to the unnistry, they have not yet pre- 
tended th<»t any one, or any two, of the three 
estates, have power to make a new law, without 
the concurrence of the third. They know, that a 
niaj who maintains such a doctrine, is liable, by 



• This is still meeting the ministry upon their own 
ground ; for, in truth, no precedents will support cither 
viatiirfil injustice, or violation of positive rights. 



112 JUNIUS^S LETTERS. 

statute, to the heaviest penalties. They do not ac- 
knowledge that the house of commons have assumed 
a new privilege, or declared a new law. On the con' 
trary, they affirm that their proceedings have been 
strictly conformable to, and founded upon, the ancient 
law and custom of parliament. Thus, tlierefore, the 
question returns to the point at which Junius l'?i(l 
fixed it, viz. Whether or no this be the law of par- 
liament ? If it be not, the house of commons nad 
no legal authority to establish the precedent ; and 
the precedent itself is a mere fact, without any prooi 
of right whatsover. 

Your correspondent concludes with a question ot 
tlie simplest nature : Must a thing be ivrong because 
it has never been done before ? No. But, admitting; 
it were proper to be done, that alone does no'< 
convey an authority to do it. As to the present case ^ 
I hope I shall never see the time, when not only u 
single person, but a whole county, and, in efiect, 
the entire collective body of the people, ma^' again 
be robbed of their birth-riglit by a vote of the hou&3 
of commons. But if, for reasons which I am unable 
to comprehend, it be necessary to trust that house 
with a power so exorbitant and so unconstitutional, 
at least let it be giv€ i them by- an act of the legis • 
ktore. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



JIJNIUS'S L^-lTERb. 113 



XVIII. 



To Sir William Blackstone, Solicitor General to 
her Majesty. 

SIR, July 29, 1769. 

I shall make you no apology for' considering a 
certain pamphlet, in which your late conduct is de- 
fended, as written by youi*Seir. The personal in- 
terest, the personal resentments, and, above all, 
that wounded spirit, unaccustomed to reproach, 
and, I hope, not frequently conscious of deserving 
it, are signals which betray the author to us as 
plainly as if your name were in the title-page. You 
appeal to the public in defence of your reputation. 
We hold it, sir, that an injury offered to an indi- 
vidual is interesting to society. On this principle 
the people of England made common cause with 
Mr. Wilkes. On this principle, if you are injured, 
they will join in j'our resentment. I shall not follow 
you through the insipid form of a third person, but 
address myself to you directly. 

You s em to think the channel of a pamphlet 
more respectable, and better suited to the dignity 
of your cause, than that of a newspaper. Be it so. 
Yet, if newspapers are scurrilous, you must conless 
they are impartial. They give us, without any ap- 
parent preference, the wit and argument of the 
ministry, as well as the abusive dulness of the oppo- 



114 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

sition. The scales are equally poised. It is no\ 
the printer's fault if the greater weight incUnes tne 
balance. 

Your pamphlet, then, is divided into an attack 
upon Mr. Grenville's character, and a defence of 
your own. It would have been more consistent, 
perhaps, with your professed intention, to have 
confined yourself to the last. But anger has some 
claim to indulgence, and railing is usually a relief to 
the mind. I hope you have found benefit from the 
experiment. It is not my design to enter into a for- 
mal vindication of Mr. Grenville upon his own prin- 
ciples. I have neither the honour of being personally 
known to him, nor do I pretend to be completely 
master of all the facts. I need not run the risk of 
doing an injustice to his opinions, or to his conduct, 
when your pampiilet alone carries, upon the face of 
It, a full vindication of both. 

Your first reflection is, that Mr. Grenville* was, 
of all men, the person who should not have com- 
plained of inconsistence with regard to Mr. Wilkes. 
This, sir, is either an unmeaning sneer, a peevish 
expression of resentment ; or, if it means any thing, 
you plainly beg the question ; for, whether his par- 
liamentary conduct, with regard to Mr. Wilkes, 
has or has not been inconsistent, remains yet to 
be proved. But it seems he received upon the spot 
a sufficient chastisement for exercising so unfairly 



• Mr. Grenville had quoted a passage from the doctor'a 
excellent Commentaries, which directly contradicted the 
doctrine maintained by the doctor in the house of commons 



JUNITJS'S LETTERS. 115 

hi§ talents of misrepivscntation. You are a lawyer, 
sir, and know better than I do upon what particu- 
lar occasions a talent for misrepresentation may be 
fairly exerted ; but to punish a mana second time 
when he has been once sufficiently chastised, is rather 
too severe. It is not in the laws of England ; it is 
not in your own Commentaries ; nor is it yet, I be- 
lieve, in the new law you have revealed to the house 
of commons. I hope this doctrine has no exist- 
ence but in your own heart. After all, sir, if you 
had consulted that sober discretion which you seem 
to oppose with triumph to the honest jollity of 
a taverU; it might have occurred to you, that, 
although you could have succeeded in fixing a 
charge of inconsistence upon Mr. Grenville, it 
would not have tended in any shape to exculpate 
yourself. 

Your next insinuation, that sir William Meredith 
had hastily adopted the false glosses of his new 
ally, is of the same sort with the first. It conveys 
a sneer, as little worthy of the gravity of your 
character, as it is useless to your defence. It is of 
little moment to the public to inquire by whom 
the charge was conceived, or by whom it was 
adopted. The only question we ask is, wl)ether or 
not it be true? The remainder of your reflections 
upon Mr. Grenville's conduct destroy themselves. 
He could not possibly come prepared to traduce 
your integrity to the house; he could not foresee 
that you would even speak upon the question ; 
much less could he foresee that you would main- 
tani a direct contradiction of that doctrine which 
you had solemnly, disinterestedly, and, upon th»» 



116 JUMUS'S LETTERS. 

soberest reflection, delivered to the public. H« 
came armed, indeed, with what he thought a re- 
spectable authority, to support what he was con- 
vinced was the cause of truth ; and, I doubt not, 
he intended to give you, m the course of the debate, 
an honourable and public testimony of his esteem. 
Thinking highly of his abilities, I cannot, however, 
allow him tiie gift of divination. As to what you 
are pleased to call a plan, coolly formed, to impose 
upon the house of conunons, and his producing it, 
witliout provocation, at midnight, 1 consider it as 
the language of pique and invective, therefore un- 
worthy of regard. But, sir, I am sensible 1 have 
followed your example too long, and wandered from 
the point. 

The quotation from your Commentaries is matter 
of record : it can neither be altered by your friends, 
nor misrepresented by your enemies : and I am 
willing to take your own word for what you have 
said in the house of commons. If tiiere be a real 
difierence betv^een what you have written and what 
you liave spoken, you confess that your book ought 
to be the standard. Now, sir, if words mean any 
thing, I apprehend, that when a long enumeration 
of disqualifications (whether by statute or the cus- 
tom of parliament) concludes with these general 
comprehensive wo>'ds, " but subject to these re- 
strictions and disqualifications, every subject of 
the realm is eligible of common riglit," — a reader, 
of plain understanding, must of course rest satisfied 
that no species of disqualification whatsoever had 
been omUted. The known character of the author, 
and the appa'^ent accuracy with whiih the wholt 



JUNUS'S LETTERS. 117 

work is compiled, would confirm him in Ins opinion : 
nor could he possibly form any other judgment, 
without looking upon your Commentaries in the 
same light in which you consider those penal 
laws, which, though not repealed, are fallen into 
disuse, and are now, in effect, a snare to the 
unwary.* 

You tell us, indeed, that it was not part of your 
plan to specify any temporai-y incapacity ; and 
♦.hat you could not, without a spirit of prophecy, 
have specified the disability of a private individual 
subsequent to the period at which you wrote. What 
your plan was I know not ; but what it should 
have been, in order to complete the work you have 
given us, is by no means difficult to determine. 
The mcapncity, which you call temporary, may 
continue seven years ; and though you might not 
have foreseen the particular case of Mr. Wilkes, 
you might, and should, have foreseen the possi- 
bility of such a case, and told us how far the house 
of commons were authorised to proceed in it by the 
law and custom of parliament. The freeholders of 
Middlesex would then have known what they had 
(() trust to, and would never have returned Mr. 
Wilkes, when colonel Luttrell was a candidate 
against him. The} would have chosen some in- 
different person, rather than submit to be repre- 



• If, in stating the law upon any point, a judge deli- 
berately affirms tiiat he has included everi/ case, and il 
should appear that he has purposely omitted a miiterioi 
case, ho <loes, in effect; lay a snare for the unwarv 



118 JUNTUS'S LETTERS 

Bented by the object of their contempt and detei 
tation. 

Four attempt to distinguish between disabilities 
which affect whole classes of men, and those which 
affect individuals only, is really unworthy of your 
understanding-. Your Commentaries had taught 
me, that, although the instance in which a penal 
law is exerted, be particular, the laws themselves 
are general : they are made for the benefit and in- 
struction of the public, though the penalty falls 
only upon an individual. You cannot but know, 
sir, that what was Mr. Wilkes's case yesterday may 
be yours or mine to-morrow, and that, consequently 
the common right of every subject of the realm 
ts invaded by it. Professing, therefore, to treat of 
the constitution of the house of commons, and of 
the laws and customs relative to that constitution, 
you certainly were guilty of a most unpardonablo 
omission, in taking no notice of a right and privi- 
lege of the house more extraordinary and more 
arbitrary than all the others they possess put to- 
gether. If the expulsion of a member, not under 
any legal disability, of itself creates in him an in- 
capacity to be elected, 1 see a ready way marked 
out, by which the majority may, at any time, remove 
the honestest and ablest men who happen to be in 
opposition to them. To say that they will not 
make this extravagant use of their power would 
be a language unfit for a man so learned in the laws 
as 3'ou are. By your doctrine, sir, they have the 
power : and laws, you know, are intended to guard 
agamst what men may do, not to trust to what they 
will do. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 119 

Upon the whole, sir, the churjje agiil t you ia 
of a plain, simple nature ; it appears even upon the 
face of your own pamphlet. On the contrary, your 
justification of yourself is full of subtilty and re- 
finement, and in some places not very intelligible. 
If 1 were personally your enemy, I should dwell 
with a malignant pleasure upon those great and 
useful qualifications which you certainly possess, 
and b}^ which you once acquired, though they c:*uld 
not preserve to you, the respect and esteem of your 
country ; I should enumerate the honours you have 
lost, and the virtues you have disgraced ; but, having 
no private resentmerits to gratify, 1 think it sufficient 
to have given my opinion of your public conduct, 
leaving the punishment it deserves to your closet and 
to vourselfl 

JUNIUS. 



XIX. 



Addressed to the Printer of the Puhlic Advertiser 

SIR, August 14, 1709 

A correspondent of the St. James's Evening PoM 
first wdfully misunderstands Junius, then censurta 
him for a bad reasoner. Junius does not say that 
it was incumbent upon doctor Blackstone to foresee 
and state the crimes for which Mr. Wilkes was ex- 
pelled. If, by a spirit of prophecy, he had even done 
BO, it would h'^ve been nothing to the purpose The 



120 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

question is, not for what particular offence« a pcr« 
son may be expelled, but, generally, whether by .he 
law of parliament expulsion alone creates a disquali 
fication. If the affirmative be the law of parliament) 
doctor Bjackstone might and should have told us so^ 
The question is not confined to this or that parti- 
cular person, but forms. one great general branch 
of disqualification, too important in itself, and too 
extensive in its consequences, to be omitted in an 
accurate work expressly treating of the law of par- 
liament. 

The truth of the matter is evidently this : doctor 
Blackstone, while he was speaking in the house of 
commons, never once thought of his Commentaries, 
until the contradiction was unexpectedly urged, and 
stared him in the face. Instead of defending him- 
self upon the spot, he sunk under the charge in an 
agony of confusion and despair. It was well known 
that there was a pause of some minutes in the 
house, from a general expectation that the doctor 
would say something in his own defence ; but it 
seems his faculties were too much overpowered to 
think of those subtilties and refinements which 
have since occurred to him. It was then Mr. Gren- 
ville received that severe chastisement which the 
doctor mentions with so much triumph : / loish the 
honourable gentleman, instead of shaking his headf 
would shake a good argument out of it. If to the 
elegance, novelty, and bitterness of this ingenious 
sarcasm, we add the natural melody of the amiable 
sir Fletcher Norton's pipe, we shall not be surprised 
that Iklr. Greuville was unablt to make him any 
reply. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 121 

As to the doctor, I would recommend H to liira 
to be quiet. U not, he may, perhaps, hear again 
from Junius himself. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



Postscript to a pamphlet entitled An Answer to 
the Qiiestion stated; supposed to be written by 
Dr. Blackstone, solicitor to the queen, in ans*v*»r 
to Junius's letter. 

Since these papers were sent to the press, a writer, 
\n the public papers, who subscribes himself Junius, 
ihas made a feint of bringing this question to a short 
issue. Though the foregoing observations contain, 
in my opinion at least, a full refutation of all tha 
this writer has ofl'ered, 1 shall, however, bestow a 
very few words upon him. It will cost me very little 
trouble to unravel and expose the sophistry of his 
argument. 

" I take the question," says he, " to be strictly 
mis : Whether or no it be the known established 
law of parliament, that the expulsion of a member 
of the house of commons, of 'tself, creates in him 
su( h an incapacity to be re-elected, that, at a subse- 
(juent election, any votes given to him are null and 
void ; and that any other candidate, who, except the 
^■>erson expelled, has the greatest number of votes, 
ought to be the sitting member." 

Waving, for the present, any objection I may 
have to this state of the question, I shall venture 
to meet our champion upon his own ground ; and 
attempt to support the affirmative of it, in one ol 



122 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

the two ways by whicii he says it can be alone fairly 
supported. " If there be no statute," says he, " in 
which the specific disability is clearly created, &ic. 
(and we acknowledge there is none) the custom of 
parliament must then be referred to ; and some 
case, or cases, strictly in point, must be produced, 
with the decision of the court upon them." Now 
I assert that this has been done. Mr. Walpole's 
case is strictly in point, to prove' that expulsion 
creates absolute incapacity of being re-elected. This 
was the clear decision of the house upon it ; and 
was a full declaration that incapacity was the ne- 
cessary ccnsequenre of expulsion. The law was 
as clearly and firnny fixed by this resolution, and is 
as binding in every subsequent case of expulsion 
as 'f it had been declared by an express statute tha< 
a " member, expelled by a resolution of the houso 
of commons, shall be deemed incapable of being 
re-elected." Whatever doubt, then, there migh< 
have been of the law, before Mr. Walpole's case, with 
respect to the full operation of a vote of expulsion, 
there can be none now. The decision of the house, 
upon this case, is strictly in point, to prove that ex- 
pulsion creates absolute incapacity in law of being 
re-elected. 

But incapacity in law, in this instance, must 
have the same operation and effect with incapacity 
in law in every other instance. Now, incapacity ol 
being re-elected implies, in its very terms, tlial any 
votes given to the incapable person, at a subsequent 
election, are null and void. This is its necessary 
operation, or it has no operation a all: it s vox 
tt prceierea nihil. We can no more be called upon 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 123 

CO prove this proposition, than we can to prove tiial 
a dead man is not alive, or that twice two are four. 
When the terms are understood, the proposition is 
self-evident. 

Lastl}^ it. is, in all cases of election, the known 
and established law of the land, grounded upon the 
clearest principles of reason and common sense, 
that if the votes given to one candidate are null 
and void, they cannot be opposed to the votes given 
to another candidate; they cannot affect the votes 
of such candidate at all. As they iiave, on the one 
hand, no positive quality to add or establish, so 
have they, on the other hand, no negative one to 
subtract or destroy. They are, in a word, a mere, 
nonentity. Such was the determination of the 
house of commons in the Maiden and Bedford elec 
lions ; cases strictly in point to the present question, 
as far as they are meant to be in point ; and to say 
that they are not in point in all circumstances, in 
those particularly which are independent of the pro- 
position which thoy are quoted to prove, is to say no 
njore than that Maiden is not Middlesex, nor seijeant 
Comyns Mr. Wilkes. 

Let us see then how our proof stands. Expulsion 
creates incapacity, incapacity annihilates any votes 
given to the incapable person ; the votes given to 
the qualified candidate stand, upon their own bot- 
tom, firm and untouched, and can alone have effect. 
This, one would think, would be sufficient. But 
we are stopped short, and told that none of our 
precedents come home to the present case, and are 
challenged to produce " a precedent in all the pro- 
ceedings of the house of commons that does comf 



124 JUNIUS S LETTERS. 

home to it, viz. where an expelled member has been 
returned again, and another candidate, uith an in- 
ferior number of votes, has been declared the sitting 
member.''^ 

Instead of a precedent, I will beg leave to put a 
case, which, I fancy, will be quite as decisive to 
the present point. Suppose another Sacheverell 
(and every party must have its Sacheverell) should, 
at some future election, take it into his head to 
offer himself a candidate for the county of Middle- 
sex. He is opposed by a candidate whose coat is of 
a different colour, but, however, of a very good 
colour. The divine has an indisputable majority ; 
nay, the poor layman is absolutely distanced. The 
sheriff, after having had his conscience well in- 
formed by the reverend casuist, returns him, as he 
supposes, duly elected. The whole house is in an 
uproar at the apprehension of so strange an appear- 
ance amongst them. A motion, however, is a/' 
length made, that the person was incapable oi 
being elected ; that his election, therefore, is null 
and void ; and that his competitor ought to have 
been returned. No, says a great orator, first show 
me your law for this proceeding. Either produce 
me a statute, in which the specific disability of a 
clergyman is created ; or produce me a precedent, 
where a clergyman has been returned, and another 
candidate, with an inferior number of votes, has been 
declared the sitting member. No such statute, no 
such precedent, to be found. VVluit answer then is 
to be given to this demand ? The very same answer 
which I will give to that of Junius. That there is 

ore than one precedent in the proceedinjix!! of the 



JUNIUS'S liETTERS. 125 

house, ' where an incapable person has been re- 
turned, and another candidate, with an inrcrior 
number of vo:es, lias been declared the sitting' mem- 
bei ; and that this is the known and established law. 
in all cases of incapacity, from whatever cause it may 
arise," 

I shall now, therefore, beg leave to make a slight 
amendmen to Junius's state of the question, the 
affirmative of which will then stand thus : 

" It is the known and established law of par- 
liament, that the expulsion of any member of tho 
house of commons creates in him an incapacity of 
being re-elected ; that any votes given to him at a 
subsequent election are, in consequence of such in- 
capacity, null and void ; and that any other can- 
didate, who, except the person rendered incapable 
has the greatest number of votes, ought to be thr 
sitting member." 

But our business is not yet quite finished. Mr 
Walpole's case must have a re-hearing. " It is not 
possible," says this writer, " to conceive a case' 
more exactly in point. Mr. Walpole was expelled, 
and, having a majority of votes at the next election, 
was returned again. The friends of Mr. Taylor, a 
candidate set up by the ministry, petitioned the 
house that he might be the sitting member. Thus 
far the circumstances tally exactlj^, except that our 
house of commons saved Mr. Luttrell the trouble of 
petitioning. The point of law, however, was the 
same. It came regularly before the house, and it 
was their business to determine upon it. They did 
determine it ; for they declared Mr. Taylor not duly 
elected." 



lae JUNius's lettp:rs. 

Instead of examining the justness of this represen* 
t«tion, I shall beg leave to oppose against it my own 
view of this case, in as plain a manner and as few 
words as I am able. 

It was the known and established law of parlia- 
ment, when the charge against Mr. Walpole came 
before the house of commons, that they had power 
to expel, to disable, and to render incapaole foj 
offences. In virtue of this power they expelled 
him. 

Had they, in the very vote of expulsion, ad- 
judged him, m terms, to be incapable of being re- 
electPil, there must have been at once an end with 
him. But though tiie right of the house, both to ex- 
pel and adjudge him incapable, was clear and indubi- 
table, it does not appear to me that the full opera- 
lion and effect of a vote of expulsion singly was so. 
The law in this case had never been expressly 
declared ; there had been no event to call up such 
a declaration. I trouble not myself with the graril- 
matical meaning of the word expulsion ; I regard 
only its legal meaning. This was not, as I think, 
precisely fixed. The house thought proper to fix 
it, and explicitl}^ to declare the full consequences 
of their former vote, before they suffered these con- 
sequences to take effect : and in this proceeding 
they acted upon the most liberal and solid prin- 
ciples of equity, justice, and law. What then did 
the burgesses of Lynn collect from the second vote f 
Their subsequent conduct will tell us : it will with 
certainty tell us that they considered it as decisive 
kgaiust Mr. Walpole. It will also, with equal cer- 
lainty, tell us, that, upon supposition that the law 



JUNITJS'S LETTERS. 127 

a( election stood then as it does now, and that they 
knew it to stand thus, they inferred, " that, at a 
future election, and in case of a similar return, the 
house would receive the sanie candidate, as duly 
elected, whom they had before rejected." They 
could infer nothing but this. 

It is needless to repeat the circumstance of dis- 
similarity in the present case : it will be sufficient 
to observe, that, as the law of parlia">ent^ upon 
which the house of commons grounded every step 
of their proceedings, was clear beyond the reach oi 
doubt, so neither could the freeholders of Middlesex 
be at a loss to foresee what must be the inevitable 
consequence of their proceedings in opposition to it ; 
'or, upon every return of Mr. Wilkes, the house made 
'uquiry whether any votes were given to any other 
candidate. 

But I could venture, for the experiment's sake, 
even to give this writer the utmost he asks; to allow 
ihe most perfect similarity throughout, in these two 
cases ; to allow that the law of expulsion was quite 
as clear to the burgesses of Lynn as to the free- 
holders of Middlesex. 'It will, I am confident, 
avail his cause but little. It will only prove, that 
the law of election, at that time, was different from 
the present law. It will prove, that, in all cases of 
an incapable candidate returned, the law then was, 
that the whole election should be void. But now 
we know that this is not law. The cases of Maiden 
and Bedford were, a* has been seen, determined upon 
other and more just principles ; and these deter- 
minations are, I imagine admitted on all sides to b« 
law. 



128 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

I would willingly draw a veil over the remaining 
part of this paper. It is astonishing, it is painful, 
to see men of parts and ability giving in to the 
most unworthy artifices, and descending so much 
below their true line of character. But, if they are 
not the dupes of their sophistry (which is hardly to 
be conceived) let them considei that they are some- 
thing much worse. 

The dearest interests of this country are its laws 
and its constitution. Against every attack upon 
these, tliere will, I hope, be always found amongst 
us the firmest spinV of resistance, superior to the. 
united efforts of faction and ambition : for ambition, 
though it does not always take the lead of faction, 
will be sure, in the end, to make the most fatal ad- 
vantage of it, and draw it to its own purposes. But, 
I trust, our day of trial is yet far off: and there is a 
fund of good sense in this country tchich cannot long 
he deceived by the arts either of false reasoning or 
false patriotism. 



XX. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, August b, 1769. 

The gentleman who has published an answer to 
sir William Meredith's pamphlet, having honoured 
me with a postcript of six quarto pages, which he 
moilei ately calls bestowing a very few words upon 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 129 

me, 1 cannot, in common politeness, refuse him a 
reply. The form and magnitude of a quarto im- 
poses upon the mind; and men, who arc unequa, 
to the labour of discussing- an intricate argument, 
or wish to avoid it, are v/illing enough to suppose 
tliat much has been proved, because much has been 
said. Mine, I confess, are humble labours. I do 
not presume to instruct the learned, but simply to 
inform the body of the people ; and I prefer that 
channel of con^'eyance which is likely to spread 
farthest among them. The advocates of the minis- 
try seem to me to write for fame, i nd to flatter 
themselves, that the size of their woi/is will make 
tiiem immortal. They pile up reluctant quarto 
upon solid folio, as if their labours, because 
they are gigantic, could contend with truth and 
heaven. 

The writer of the volume in question meets me 
upon my own ground. He acknowledges there is 
no statute by which the specific disability we speak 
of is created : but he affirms, that the custom of 
parliament has been referred to, and that a case 
strictly in point has been produced, with the de- 
cision of the court upon it. I thank him for coming 
so fairly to the point. He asserts, that the case o( 
Mr. Walpole is strictly in point, to prove that ex- 
pulsion creates an absolute incapacity of being re- 
elected ; and for this purpose he refers generally 
to the first vote of the house upon that occasion, 
without venturing to recite the vote itself. The 
unfair, disengenuous artifice of adopting that part 
of a precedent which seems to suit his purpose, and 
omitting the remainder, deserves son'e pity, bn> 
F 2 V 



130 JIJNIUS'S LETTERS. 

cannot excite my resentment. He takes advantage 
eagerly of the first resolution, by which Mr. VVal- 
pole's incapacity is declared ; but as to the two fol- 
lowing, by which the candidate with the fewest 
votes was declared " not duly elected," and the elec- 
tion itself vacated, I dare say h» would be well 
eatisfied if they were for ever blotted out of the 
journals of the house of commons. In fair argu- 
ment, no part of a precedent should be admitted, 
unless the whole of it be given to us together. The 
author has divided his precedent ; for he knew, 
that, taken together, it produced a consequence 
directly the reverse of that which he endeavours to 
draw from a vote of expulsion. But what will this 
honest person sa}', if I take him at his word, and 
demonstrate to him, that the house of commons 
never meant to found Mr. Walpole's incapacity upon 
nis expulsion oidy ? What subterfuge will then 
remain .'' 

Let it be remembered, that we are speaking of 
the intention of men who lived more than half a 
century ago ; and that such intention can only be 
collected from their words and actions, as they are 
delivered to us upon record. To prove their de- 
signs by a supposition of what they would have 
done, opposed to what they actually did, is mere 
trifling and impertinence. The vote by which Mr. 
Walpole's incapacity was declared is thus expressed : 
'* That Robert Walpole, esq. having been, this ses- 
sion of parliament, committed a prisoner to the 
ower, and expelled this house for a breach of trust 
I the execution of his ofGce, and notori(»us cor- 
uption, when secretary at war, was and i» inca- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 131 

pable of being elected a member lo sijrve in this 
present parliaincnt."* Now, sir, to my undt/stand- 
ing, no proposition of this kind can be more evi- 
dent, tlian tiiat the house of commons, by this very 
vote, tliemselves understood, and meant to declare, 
that Mr. Walpole's incapacity arose from the crimes 
he had committed, not from the punislm)ent the 
house annexed to them. The high breach of trust, 
the notorious corruption, are stated in the strongest 
terms. They do not tell us that he was incapable 
because he was expelled, but because he had been 
guilty of such ofi'ences as justly rendered him un- 
worthy of a seat in parliament. If they had in- 
tended to fix the disability upon his expulsion alone, 
the mention of his crimes in the same vote would 
have been highly inproper. ft could only perplex 
tlie minds of the electors, who, if they collected 
any thing from so confused a declaration of the law 
of parliament, must have concluded, tliat their repre- 
sentative had been declared incapable because he 
was highly guilty, not because he had been punished. 



• It is well worth remarking, that the compiler of a cer- 
tain quarto, called The Case of l\e last Election for the 
County of Middlesex considet . *, has the impudence to 
ecite this very vote in the foUownig terms (vide page 11): 
** Resolved, that Robert Walpole, esq. having been hit 
iession of parliament expelled the house, was, and is, in- 
capable of being elected a member to serve in the preset 
parliament." There cannot be a stronger positive proof of 
the treachery of the compiler, nor a stronger presumptive 
proof that he was convinced that the vote, if dul} recitet., 
would overturn his w'jole argument. 



132 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

But even admitting them to have understood il 
m the other sense, they must then, from the very 
terms of the vote, have united the idea of his being 
sent to the Tower with that of his expulsion ; and 
considered his incapacity as the joint effecv of 
both.* 



• Addressed to the Printer of tlie Public Advertiser 

SIR, May 22, 1771. 

Very early in the debate upon the decision of the Mid- 
dlesex election, it was observed by ynnius, that tlw 
house of commons had not only exceeded tlieir boasted 
precedent of the expulsion and subsequent incapacitation 
of Mr. Walpole, but that they had not even adhered to it 
strictly as far as it went. After convicting Mr. Dyson of 
giving a false quotation from the journals, and having ex- 
plained the purpose which that contemptible fraud was in- 
tended to answer, he proceeds to state the vote itself by 
which Mr. Walpole's suj)posed incapacity was declared, viz. 
'^ Resolved, that Robert Walpole, esq. having been this ses- 
sion of parliament committed a prisoner to the Tower, 
and expelled this house for a high breacli of trust in the 
execution of his office, and notorious corruption when se- 
cretary at war, was and is incapable of being elected a 
member to serve in this present parliament ;" and then ob- 
serves, that, from the terms of the vote, we have no rig**'; 
to annex the incapacitation to the expulsion only ; far 
that, as the proposition stands, it must arise equally frcra 
expulsion and the commitment to the Tower. I be- 

. , sir, no man, who knows any thing of dialectics, or 
who understands English, will dispute the truth and fair- 
ness of this construction. But Junius has a great authori- 
ty to support him, wh'ch, to speok with the duke of 



JUjNIUS'S letters. 133 

S do not mean to give an opii.ion upon the jus- 
tice of the proceedings of the house of commons 
»rith regard to Mr. Walpole j but certainly, if I ad- 



(yraflon, I accidentally met with this morning in the course 
of my reading. It contains an admonition, which cannot 
be repeated too often. Lord Summers, in his excellent 
tract upon the Rights of the People, after reciting the 
votes of the convention of the 28th of January, iGSQ, viz. 
" That king James the Second, having endeavoured to 
gubvert tlie constitution of this kingdom, by breaking the 
original contract between king and people, and, by the ad- 
vice of Jesuits, and other wicked persons, having violated 
the fundamental laws, and having withdrawn himself out 
of this kingdom, hath abdicated the government," &c. — 
makes this observation upon it : " The word abdicated re- 
lates to all the clauses foregoing, as well as to his deserting 
the kingdom, or else tney would have been wholly in vain." 
And that there might be no pretence for confining the ab- 
dication merely to the withdrawing, lord Sommers farther 
observes, That king James, by refusing to govern tu 
according to that laio by which he held the crown, did 
implicitly renounce his title to it. 

If Junius's construction of the vote against Mr. Walpole 
be now admitted (and, iir-leed, I cannot comprehend how it 
can honestly be disputed) the advocates of the house o( 
commons must either give up their precedent entirely, or 
be reduced to the necessity of nraintaining one of the grcissest 
absurdities imaginable, viz. " That a commitment lo the 
Towi'r is a constituent part of, and contril)utes half at least 
to the incapacitation of the person who suffers it." 

1 need not make you any excuse for endeavouring to 
keep alive the attention of the public to th«,' decision of the 
Middlesex eled ion. The more I consider it, the more I 
am convinced, that, as a fact, it is indeed highly injurious 



13 i JUNIUS'S LtrTERS. 

mitted theii censure to be well founded, I could no 
way avoid agreeing with lliem in the cctnsequenco 
they drew from it. I could never have a doubt, hi 
law or reason, that a man convicted of a high bread: 
of trust, and of a notorious corruption, in the execu- 
tion of a public office, was, and ought to be, incapa- 
ble of sitting in the same parliament. Far from 
attempting to invalidate that vote, I should have 



to the rights of the people ; but that, as a precedent, it is 
one of the most dangerous that ever was established against 
those who are to come after us. Yet, I am so far a mode- 
rate man, that 1 verily believe tlie majority of the house of 
commons, when they passed this dangerous vote, neitb?r 
understood the question, or knew the consequence of ivhat 
they were doing. Their motives were rather despicable 
than criminal, in the extreme. One effect they certainly 
did not foresee. They are now reduced to such a situation, 
that if a member of the present house of commons were to 
conduct himself ever so improperly, and, in reality, deserve 
to be sent back to his constituents with a mark of disgrace, 
ihey would not dare to expel him ; because they know that 
the.' people, in order to try again the great question of right, 
or to thwart an odious house of commons, would probably 
overlook his immediate unworthiness, and return the same 
person to parliament. But, in time, the precedent will gain 
strength ; a future house of commons will have no such 
*pprehensions ; consequent!}', will not scruple to follow a 
precedent which tiiey did not f stablish. The miser himseli 
leldom lives to enjoy the fruit of his extortion, but his heir 
jucc(,'eils to him of course, and takes possession widiout :en- 
Jure, No man expects him lo make restitution ; and, na 
Hatta f jr his title, he lives c'oietly upon the estate. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



JUjaUS'S I^ETTERS. 135 

irished that the incapacity declared by it could legallj 
have been continued for ever. 

Now, sir, observe how forcibly ',.' e argumert 
returns. The house of commons, upon the face o( 
their proceedings, had the ^^crongest motives to de- 
clare Mr. \\ alpole incapable of being re-elected. 
They thought such a man unworthy to sit among 
them. To that point they proceeded, and no far- 
ther ; for they respected the rights of the people, 
while they asserted their own. They did not infer, 
from Mr. Walpole's incapacity, that his opponent 
was duly elected ; on the contrary, they declared 
Mr. Taylor " not duly elected," and the election it- 
self void. 

Such, however, is the precedent which my honest 
friend assures us is strictly in point, to prove, thai 
expulsion of itself creates an incapacity of being 
elected. If it had been so, the present house of 
commons should at least have followed strictly the 
example before them, and should have stated to 
us, in the same vote, the crimes for which they 
expelled Mr. Wilkes : whereas they resolve simply, 
fhaA, " having been expelled, he was and is inca- 
pable." In this proceeding, I am authorised to affirm, 
they ha\e neither statute, nor custom, nor reason, 
nor one single precedent to support them. On the 
other side, there is, indeed, a precedent so strongly 
in point, that all the enchanted castles of ministe- 
rial magic fall before it. In the year 1698 (a period 
which the rankest Tory dares not except against) 
Mr. Wollaston was expelled, re-elected, and admit- 
ted to take his seat in the same parliament. The 
ministry have orecluded themselves from all ob- 



136 "UNIUS'S LEITEKS. 

lections drawn from the cause of his expulsion 5 for 
they affirm absolutely, that expulsion, of itself, 
creates the disability. Now, sir, let sophistry evade, 
let falsehood assert, and impudence deny j here 
stands the precedent : a land-mark to direct us 
tlirough a troubled sea of controversy, conspicuous 
and unreinoved. 

1 have dwelt the longer upon the discussion ol 
this point, because, in my opinion, it comprehends 
the whole question. The rest is unworthy of notice. 
We are inquiring whether incapacity be, or be 4iotj 
created by expulsion. In the cases of Bedford and 
Maiden, the incapacity of tlie persons returned was 
matter of public notoriety, for it was created by act 
of parliament. But really, sir, my honest friend's 
suppositions arc as unfavourable to hi in as his facts. 
He well knows that the clergy, besides that they are 
represented in common with their fellow subjects, 
have also a separate parliament of their own j that 
their incapacity to sit in the. house of commons has 
been confirmed by repeated decisions of that house ; 
and that the law of parliament, declared by those 
decisions, has been, for above two centuries, noto- 
rious and undisputed. The author is certainly at 
liberty to fancy cases, and make whatever compari- 
sons he thinks proper : his suppositions still continue 
as dista;.it from fact as his wild discourses are from 
lolid argument. 

The conclusion of his book is candid to an extreme. 
He offers to grant me all I desire. He thinks hf 
ma}' safely admit, that the case of Mr. Walpole 
makes directly against him ; for it seems be has one 
grand solution in peft ■ for all difficu ties. " If (says 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 137 

he) 1 were to allow all this, it will only prove tlml 
llie law of election was different in queen Anne's lirae 
from what it is at present." 

This, indeed, is more than I expected. The 
principle, I know, has been maintained in fact ; 
but I never expected to see it so formally declared. 
VVliat can he mean ? Does lie assume this language 
la satisfy the doubts of the people, or does he mean 
to rouse their indignation ? Are the ministry daring 
enough to affirm, that the house of commons have 
a right to make and unmake tiie law of parliament, 
at their pleasure ? Does the law of parliament, 
which we are often told is tlie law of the land, does 
the common rigiit of every subject of the realm, 
depend upon an arbitrary, capricious vote of one 
branch of the legislature ^ The voice of truth and 
reason must be silent. 

The ministry tell us plainly, that this is no longer 
a question of right, but of power and force alone. 
What was law yesterday is not law to-day : and now, 
it seems, we have no better rule to live by, than the 
temporary discretion and fluctuating integrity of the 
house of commons. 

Professions of patriotism are become stale and 
ridiculous. For my own part, 1 claim no merit 
from endeavouring to do a service to my fellow- 
gubjects. I have done it to the best of my under- 
Btanding ; and, without looking for the approbation 
of other men, my conscience is satisfied. What 
■ - ns to be done, concerns the collective body of 
people. They are now to determine for them- 
lelves, wiiether they will firmly and constitutionally 
assert their rirjhts, or make an humble, slavish 



138 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

surrender of them at the feet of the ministry. To 
a generous mind there cannot be a doubt. We owt 
it to our ancestors, to p"*eserve entire those rights 
which they have delivered to our care. \Ytt owe it 
to our posterity, not to suffer their dearest in- 
heritance to be destroyed. But, if it were possible 
for us to be insensible of these sacred claims, there 
is yet an obligation binding upon ourselves, from 
which nothing can acquit us ; a personal interest, 
which we cannot surrender. To alienate even our 
own riglits, would be a crime as much more enor- 
mous than suicide, as a life of civil security and 
freedom is superior to a bare existence : and if lifn 
be the bounty of Heaven, we scornfully reject thH 
noblest part of the gift, if we consent to surrende' 
that certain rule of living, without which the con- 
dition of human nature is not only miserable but con- 
temptible. 

JUNIUS. 



XXI. 



To the Printer of the Public Jldvertiser. 

SIR, August 22, 1769. 

I must beg of you to print a (e\\ lines in expla- 
aation of some passages in my last letter, which, 1 
»ee, have been misunderstood. 

1. When I said that the house of commons nevp* 
mc-ant to bund Mr. Walpole's incapacity on his ex 



JUNIUS'S .ETTERS. 139 

pulsion only, I meant no more than to deny the 
general proposition, that expulsion wlone creates 
the incapacity. If there be any thing ambiguous 
in the expression I beg leave to explain it, by say- 
ing, that, in my opinion, expulsion neither creates 
nor in any part contributes to create the incapacity 
in question. 

2. I carefully avoided entering into the merits of 
Mr. Walpole's case. I did not inquire whether the 
house of commons acted justly, or whether they 
truly declared the law of parliament. My remarks 
went only to their apparent meaning and intention, 
as it stands declared in their own resolution. 

3. I never meant to affirm, that a conimitment to 
the Tower created a disqualification.— On the con- 
trary, I considered that idea as an absurdity, into 
which the ministry must inevitably fall if they reason- 
ed righ* upon their own principles. 

The case of Mr. Woilaston speaks for itself. The 
ministry assert, that expulsion alone creates an ab- 
solute, complete incapacity to be re-elected to sit in 
the same parliament. This proposition they have 
un.'formly maintained, without any condition or 
modification whatsoever. Mr. Wollaston was ex- 
pelled, re-elected, and admitted to take his seat irr 
the same parliament. I leave it to the public to 
determine, whether this be plain matter of fact, of 
mere nonsense or declamation. 

JUNIUS. 



140 JUNIUS'S r.ETTERS. 



XXIi. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

September 4, 1769. 
Argument against Fact ; or, a new System o^ 
Political Logic, by which the ministry have demori- 
Btrated, to the satisfaction of their friends, that expul- 
sion alone creates a complete incapacity to be re- 
elected, alias, That a subject of this realm may be 
robbed of his common right by a vote of the house 
if commons. 

FIRST FACT. 

Mr. Wollaston, in 1698, was expelled^ re-elected, 
and admitted to take his seat. 

ARGUMENT. 

As this cannot conveniently be reconciled v/ith 
our general proposition, it may be necessary to shift 
our ground, and look back to the cause of Mr. Wol- 
laston's expulsion. From thence it will appear 
clearly, that, " alttiough he was expelled, he had 
not rendered himself a culprit, too ignominious to 
Bit in parliament ; and that, having resigned his 
employment, he \\as no longer incapacitated by 
law." Plde Serious Considerations, page 23. Or 
thus : " The house, somewhat inaccuiately, used the 
word eipelhd ; they should have called it a motion.'*^ 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 141 

yide Mungo^s Case considered, page 11. Or, in 
short, if these arguments should be thought insuf- 
ficient, we may fairly deny the fact. For example ; 
" J affirm that he was not re-elected. The same Mr. 
Wollaston, who was expelled, was not again elected. 
The same individual, if you please, walked into tiie 
house, and took his seat there ; but the same person, 
in law, was not admitted a member of that parliament 
from which he had been discarded." Vide Letter to 
Junius, page 12. 

SECOND FACT. 

Mr. Walpole, having been committed to th-i 
Tower, and expelled, for a high breach of trust, and 
notorious corruption in a public office, was declarec 
incapable, fyc. 

ARGUMENT. 

From the terms of this vote, nothing can be 
more evident, than that the house of commons 
meant to fix the incapacity upon the punishment, 
and not upon the crime ; but, lest it should appear 
in a difl'erent light to weak, uninformed persons, 
it may be advisable to gut the i-esolutlon, and give 
it to the public, with all possible solemnity, in the 
following terms, viz. " Resolved, that Robert Wal- 
pole, esq. having been that session of parliament 
expelled the house, was and is incapable of being 
elected a member to serve in that present parlia- 
ment." Vide Mungo, on the Use of Quotations, 
page 11. 



142 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

N. B. The author of the answer to Sir William 
Meredith seems to have made use of Muiigo's quo- 
tation : for, in page 18, he assures us, "That the 
declaratory vote of the 17th of February, 1769, was, 
indeed, a literal copy of the resolution o:^ the house 
in Mr. Walpole's case " 

THIRD FACT. 

His opponent, Mi\ Taylor, having the smallest 
number of votes at the next election, was declared not 
duly elected, 

ARGUMENT. 

This fact we consider as directly in point, to 
prove, that Mr. Luttrell ought to be the fitting 
member, for the following reasons : " The burj^esses 
of Lynn could draw no other inference from this 
resolution but this; tiiat, at a future election, and 
in case of a similar return, the house would receive 
the same candidate as duly elected whom they had 
before rejected." T^ide Postscript to Junius, pa^^e 37. 
Or thus : " This, their resolution, leaves no room 
to doubt what part they would have taken, if, upon 
a subsequent re-election of Mr. Walpole, there had 
been any other candidate in competition with him: 
for by their vole, they could have no other inten- 
Jion than to admit such other candidate." F^idi 
Mungo^s Case considered, page 39. Or, take it in 
this light: the burgesses of Lymi having, in defiance 
of the house, retort/^d upon them a person whom the} 
had branded with the most ignominious marks of 
\hff\i displeasure, «ere thereby so well entitled to 



JUNIUS'S :.ETTERS. 143 

favour and indulgence, that the house could do no 
less than rob Mr. Taylor of a right legally vested 
in him, in order that the burgesses might be apprised 
t)f the law of parliament; which law the house took 
a very direct way of explaining to them, by resolving 
that the candidate with the fewest voles was not 
duly elected : " And was not this much more equi- 
table, more in the spirit of that equal and substantial 
justice which is the end of all law, than if they had 
violently adhered to the strict maxims of law ?" 
Vide Serious Considerations, pages 33 and 34. 
" And if the present house of commons had chosen 
to follow the spirit of this resolution, they would 
have received and established the candidate with 
the fewest votes." f^ide Answer to sir W. M. 
page 18. 

Permit me now, sir, to show you, that the worthy 
Dr. Blackstone sometimes contradicts the ministry 
as well as himself. The speech without doors 
asserts, page 9th, " That the legal eflect of an in- 
capacity, founded on a judicial determination of a 
complete court, is precisely the same as that of an 
incapacity created by an act of parliament." Now 
for the doctor. " The law, and the opinion of the 
judge, are not always convertible terms, or one and 
the same thing ; since it sometimes may happen, that 
the judge may mistake the law." Commentaries^ 
vol. i. p. 71. 

The answer to sir W. M. asserts, page 23, " That 
the returning officer is not a judicial, but a purely 
ministerial officer. His return is no judicial act." 
At 'em again, doctor. " The sheriff, in his judicial 
capacity, n to hear and determine causes of forty 



144 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

shillings value, and under, in his county court. H€ 
has also a judicial power in divers other civil cases. 
He is likewise to decide the elections of knights ol 
the shire (subject to the control of the house of com- 
mons.) to judge of the qualification of voters, and tc 
'eturn sucii as he shall determine to be duly elected.* 
P^ide Commentaries, vol. i. p. 332. 

What conclusion shall we draw from such facts, 
and such arguments, such contradictions ? I cannot 
express my opinion of the present ministry more ex- 
actly than in the words of sir Richard Steele, " That 
we are governed by a set of drivellers, whose folly 
takes away all dignity from distress, and makes even 
(alamitv ridiculous." 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



XXIII. 



To his Grace the Duke of Bedford. 

MY LORD, September 19, 1769. 

You are so little accustomed to receive any marks 
of respect or esteem from the public, that if, in the 
following lines, a compliment or expression o'" an- 
plause should escape me, I fear you would considej 
it as a mockery of your established character, and, 
perhaps, an insult to your understanding. You have 
nice feelings, my lord, if we may judge from your 
resentments. Cautious, therefoi'e, of giving offence, 
where you have so little deserved it. I shall leave 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 146 

UttJ illustration of your virtues to other hands Your 
friends have a privilege to play upon the easiness of 
your temper, or, possibly, they are better acquainted 
with your good qualities than I am. You have done 
good by stealth. The rest is upon record. You 
have still left ample room for speculation, when 
panegyric is exhausted. 

You are, indeed, a very considerable man. The 
highest rank, a splendid fortune, and a name, glo- 
rious, till it was yours, were sufficient to have sup- 
ported you with meaner abilities than I think you 
possess. From the first, you derive a constitutional 
claim to respect ; from the second, a natural exten- 
sive authority ; the last created a partial expectation 
of hereditary virtues. The use you have made of 
these uncommon advantages might linve been more 
honourable to yourself, but could not be more in- 
structive to mankind. We may trace it in tlie 
veneration of your country, the ciioice of your 
friends, and in the accomplishment of every sanguine 
hope which the public might have conceived from 
the illustrious name of Russell, 

The eminence of your station gave you a com- 
manding prospect of your duly. The road which 
led to honour was open to your view. You could 
Qot lose it by mistake, and you had no temptation 
to depart from it by design. Compare the natural 
dignity and importance of the highest peer of Eng- 
land: the noble independence which he might have 
maintained in parliament ; and the real interest and 
respect which he might have acquwed, not only m 
parliament, but through the whole kingdom ; com- 

voL. I, G 10 



146 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

pare these glorious distinctions, with the .\nibition 
of holding a share in government, the emolumcuts 
of a place, the sale of a borough, or the purchase ol 
r\ corporation ; and though you may not regret the 
'/iroido Htiicn create rcspoctj you may see with 
anguish how much real importance and authoiit> 
/ou have lost. Consider the character of an inde 
pendent, virtuous duke of Bedford ; imagine what 
he might be in this country ; then reflect one mo- 
re at upon wliat you are. If it be possible for me 
to withdraw my attention from the fact, I will tell 
you in theory what such a man might be. 

Conscious of his own weight and importance, his 
conduct in parliament would be directed by nothing 
but the constitutional duty of a peer. He would 
consider himself as a guardian of the laws. Willing 
to support the just measures of government, but 
determined to observe the conduct of the minister 
with suspicion, he would oppose the violence of 
faction with as much firmness as the encroachments 
of prerogative. He would be as little capable of 
bargaining with the minister for places for himself 
or his dependents, as of descending to mix himself 
in the intrigues of opposition. Whenever an im- 
portant question called for his opinion in parlia- 
ment, he would be heard by the most profligate 
minister with deference and respect. His authority 
would either sanctify or disgrace the measures of 
government. The people would look up to hira 
as to their protector ; and a virtuous prince would 
have one honest man in his dominions, in whose 
mtegnty and judgment he might safely confide. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 147 

If *t shjuld be the will of Providence to afflict* 
him with a domestic misfortune, he would submit 
to the stroke with focliiii^, but not without dignity. 
He would consider the people as his children, 
and receive a generous, heartfelt consolation, in 
the sympathizing tears and blessings of hi? 
country. 

Tour grace may probably discover something 
more intelligible in the negative part of this illus- 
trious character. The man I have described would 
never prostitute his dignity in parliament, by an 
indecent violence, either in opposing or defending 
a minister. He would not at one moment rancor- 
ously persecute, at another basely cringe to, the 
favourite of his sovereign. After outraging the 
royal dignity with peremptory conditions, little 
fhort of menace and hostility, he would never de- 
► cend to the humility of soliciting an interview! 
with the favourite, and of oflering to recover, at 
any price, the honour of his friendship. Though 
deceived, perhaps, in his youth, he would not, 
through the course of a long life, have invariably 
chosen his friends frot. among the most profligate 
of mankind. His own nonour would have forbid- 
den him from mixing his private pleasures or con- 
versation with jockeys, gamesters, blasphemers, 

* l^he duke had lately lost his only son by a fall from hii 
horse. 

t At this interview, which passed at the house of the lat€ 
lord Eglintoun, lord Bute t.ild llie duke, that ne was deter- 
mined never to have any connexion w'th a man who had so 
tMisely betrayed him. 



148 JUNIUS^ LETTERS. 

gladiators, or buffoons. He would then huve nevej 
felt, much less would he have submitted to, the dis- 
honest necessity of engaging in the interests and 
intrigues of his dependents j of supplying their 
vices, or relieving their beggary, at the expense o' 
his country. He would not have betrayed such 
ignora?ice, or such contempt, of the constitution, 
as openly to avow, in a court of justice, the pur- 
chase* and sale of a borough. He would not have 
thought it consistent with his rank in the state, or 
even with his personal importance, to be the little 
tyrant of a little corporation.! He would never 
have been insulted widi virtues which he had la- 
boured to extinguish ; nor suffered the disgrace of 
a mortifying defeat, which has made him ridiculous 
and contemptible even to the few by whom he was 
not detested. I reverence the ufllictions of a good 
man ; his sorrows are sacred. But how can we take 
part in the distresses of a man whom we can nei- 
ther love or esteem : or feel for a calamity of which 
»ic iiimself is insensible.'' Where was the father's 
aeart, when he could look for, or find, an imme- 



* In an answer in chancery, in a suit against him to 
recover a large sum, paid him by a person whom be had 
undertaken to return to parliament for one of his grace'i 
boroughs, he was compelled to repay the money. 

+ Of Bedford, where the tyrant was held in such con- 
tempt and detestation, that, in (irder to deliver themselves 
trora him, they adm;tted a great number of strangers to 
the Ireedom. To make his defeat truly ridiculous, he 
tried his whole strength against Mr. Ilorne. and was beaten 
aiida hb own ground. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 149 

diate consolation for the loss of an only son, in 
consultations and bargains for a place at court, 
and even in the misery of ballotting at the India 
House ? 

Admitting, then, that you have mistaken or de- 
serted those honourable principles which ought to 
have directed your conduct ; admitting that you 
have as litde claim to private affection as to public 
esteem, let us see with what abilities, with what de- 
gree of judgment, you have carried your own sys- 
tem into execution. A great man, in the success, 
and even in the magnitude, of his crimes, finds a 
rescue from contempt. Your grace is every way 
unfortunate. Yet I will not look back to those 
ridiculous scenes, by which, in your earlier days, 
you thought it an honour to be distinguished ;* 
the recorded stripes, the public infamy, your own 
sufferings, or Mr. Rigby's fortitude. These events 
undoubtedly left an impression, though not upon 
your mind. To such a mind, it may, perhaps, be a 
pleasure to reflect, that there is hardly a corner of 



• Mr. Ileston Humphrey, a country attorney, horse- 
whipped tlie duke, with equal justice, severity, and perse- 
verance, on the course at Lichfield. Rigby and lord Tren- 
iham were also cudgelled in a most exemplary manner. Tliis 
gave rise to the following story : " When the late king 
heard that sir Edward Ilawke had given the French a drub- 
bing, his majesty, wno had never received that kind of chas- 
tisement, was pleased to ask lord Ciiesterfield the meaning 
of the word. — " Sir," says lord Chesterfield, " the meaning 
of the word — But here comes the duke of Bedford, who is 
)etter able to explafn it to your majesty than I am." 



160 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

any of his majesty's kingdoms, except France, in 
which, at one time or other, your valuable life has 
not been in danger. Amiable man ! we see and ac- 
knowledge the protection of Providence, by wliicli 
you have so often escaped the personal detestation 
of your fellow-sul)jects, and are still reserved for the 
public justice of your country. 

Your history begins to be important at that 
auspicious period, at which you were deputed to 
represent the earl of Bute at the court of Versailles. 
it was an honourable office, and executed with the 
came spirit with which it was accepted. Your 
patrons wanted an ambassador who would submit 
to make concessions, without daring to insist upon 
any honourable condition for his sovereign. Their 
business required a man who had as little feeling foi 
his own dignity, as for the welfare of his country , 
and they found him in the first rank of the nobility. 
Belleisle, Goree, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Martin- 
ique, the Fishery, and the Havana, are glorious 
monuments of your grace's talents for negotiation. 
My lord, we are too well acquainted with your pe- 
cuniary character, to think it possible that so many 
public sacrifices should have been made without 
some private compensations. Your conduct carries 
with it an internal evidence, beyond all the legal 
proofs of a court of justice. Even the callous pride 
of lord Egremout was alarmed.*" He saw and felt 



• This man, notwithstanding his pride and Tory prin 
ciples, had some English stuff in him. Upon an official 
letter he wrote to the duke of T>edford, tl e duke desired ta 



JUNH S'S LETTERS. 151 

Ills own dishonour in corresponding^ with you : and 
there certainly was a moment at which he meant to 
have resisted, had not a fatal lethargy prevailed over 
his faculties, and carried all sense and memory away 
with it. 

I will not pretend to specify the secret terms on 
which you were invited to support* an administra- 
tion which lord Bute pretended to leave in full 
possession of their ministerial authority, and nor- 
fectly masters of themselves. He was not of a 
temper to relinquish power, though he retired from 
employment. Stipulations were certamly made be- 
tween your grace and him, and certainly violated. 
After two years' submission, you thought you had 
collected strength enough to control his influence, 
and that it was your turn to be a tyrant, because you 
i.ad been a slave. When you found yourself mis- 
taken in your opinion of your gracious master's 
firmness, disappointment got the better of all your 
luimble discretion, and carried you to an excess of 
outrage to his person, as distant from true spirit, as 
from all decency and respect.! After robbnig mm 



be recalled, and it was with the utmost difficulty that lord 
Bute could appease him. 
* Mr. Grenville, lord Halifax, and lord Egremont- 
t The ministry having endeavoured to exclude the dow'- 
ager out of the Regency Bill, the earl of Bute determined 
to aisuiiss thera. Upon this, the duke of Bedford demanded 

,in audience of the , reproached him in plain 

terms with Ills duplicity, baseness, falsehood, treachery, and 
hypocrisy ; repeatedly gave him the lie, and left him ir 
coiivnls/oiis 



152 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

of the rights of a king, you would not permit him 
to preserve the honour of a gentleman. It wag 
then lord Weymouth was nominated to Ireland 
and despatched (we well remember with what inde- 
cent hurry) to plunder the treasury of the first fruits 
of an employment, which you well knew he was 
never to execute.* 

This sudden declaration of war against the fa- 
vourite, might have given you a momentary merit 
with the public, if it had either been adopted upr-a 
principle, or maintained with resolution. With- 
out looking back to all your former servility, we 
need only observe your subsequent conduct, to see 
upon what motives you acted. Apparently united 
with Mr. Grenville, you waited until lord Rocking- 
ham's feeble administration should dissolve in its 
own weakness. The moment their dismission was 
suspected, the moment you perceived that another 
iystem was adojUed in the closet, you thought it no 
disgrace to return to your former dependence, and 
solicit once more the friendship of lord Bute. You 
begged an interview, at whicli he had spirit enough 
«o treat you with contempt. 

it would now be of litde use to point out by what 
\ train of weak, injudicious measures, it became 
necessary, or was thought so, to call you back to a 
sJiaif in the administraticn.t The friends, whom 



* He received three thousand pounds for plate and 
equipage money. 

t When earl Gower was appointed president of th« 
council, the king, with his usinil sincerity, assured him 



JUNILiS'S LETTERS. • 163 

you did not in the last instance desert, were not ol 
a character to add strengtli or credit to government : 
and, at that time, your alliance with the duke ol 
Grafton, was, I presume, hardly foreseen. We must 
ook for other stipulations to account for that sud- 
den resolution of the closet, by which three of your 
dependents* (whose characters, I think, cannot be 
less respected than they are) were advanced to 
o(H( es, through which you might again control the 
minister, and probably engross the whole directioi 
of affairs. 

The possession of absolute power is now once 
more within your reach. The measures you have 
taken to obtain and confirm it, are too gross to 
escape the eyes of a discerning, judicious prince 
His palace is besieged ; the lines of circumvallation 
are drawing round him ; and, unless he finds a re- 
source in his own activity, or in the attachment o 
the real friends of his family, the best of princes 
must submit to the confinement of a state prisoner, 
until 3'our grace's death, or some less fortUi ate 
event, shall raise the siege. For the present, you 
may safely resume that style of insult and merace, 
which even a private gentleman cannot submit o 
hear without being contemptible. Mr. M'Kenzie'i 
history is not yet forgotten ; and you may find pr«»- 
cedents enough of the mode in which an imperiotiB 



that he had not had one happy moment since the duke d 
Bedford left him. 

* Lords Gower, Weymouth, and Sandwich. 
G 2 



154 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

subject may signify his pleasure to his soverei^ 
Where will this gracious monarch look for assist- 
ance, when the wretched Grafton could forget his 
obligations to his master, and desert him for a hoi 
low alliance with such a man as the duke ot 
Bedford ! 

Let us consider you, then, as arrived at the sum- 
mit of worldly greatness ; let us suppose that all 
your plans of avarice and ambition are accom- 
plished, and your most sanguine wishes gratified, in 
the fear as well as the hatred of the people ; can age 
itself forget that you are now in the last act of life ? 
Can gray hairs make folly venerable? And is there 
no period to be reserved for meditation and re- 
tirement ? For shame, my lord ! let it not be re- 
corded of you, that the latest moments of your life 
were dedicated to the same unworthy pursuits, the 
same busy agitations, in which your youth and 
manhood were exhausted. Consider that, although 
you cannot disgrace your former life, you are vio- 
lating the character of age, and exposing the im- 
f>otent imbecility, after you have lost the vigour, of 
tiie passions. 

Your friends will ask, perhaps, Whither shall this 
unhappy old man retire? Can he remain in the 
metropolis, where his life lias been so often threat- 
ened, and his palace so often attacked ? If he returns 
vo W^oburn, scorn and mockery await him. He 
inuii create a solitude round his estate, if he would 
avoid the face of reproach ar d derision. At Ply- 
mouth, his destructioi^ would be more than probable ; 
at Exeter, inevitable No honest Englishman will 



J ilUS'S LETTERS. 155 

evei- forget his attachment, nor any honest Scotch- 
man forgive his treacliery, to lord Bute. At every 
town he enters, he must change his liveries and 
name. Whichever way he flies, the hue and cry ol 
the country pursues him. 

In anotiicr kingdom, indeed, the blessings of his 
administration have be^n more sensibly felt ; his 
virtues bett€i understood ; or, at worst, the}' will 
not, for. him alone, forget their hospitality. As 
well might Verres have returned to Sicily. You 
have twice escapea, my lord ; beware of a third 
experiment. The indignation of a whole people, 
plundered, insulted, and oppressed, as they have 
been, will not always be disappointed. 

It is in vain, therefore, to shift tlie scene. You 
can no more fl ' from your enemies, than from 
yourself. Perseci >ed abroad, you look into your 
own heart for consolation, and find nothing but 
reproaches and despair. But, my lord, you may 
quit the field of business, though not the field of 
danger ; and though you cannot be safe, you may 
cease to be ridiculous. I fear you have listened too 
long to the advice of those pernicious friends, with 
whose interests you have sordidly united your own, 
and for whom you have sacrificed every thing that 
ought to be dear to a man of iionour. They are 
still base enough to encourage the follies of your 
9.ge, as the} once did the vices of your youth. As 
little acquainted with the rules of decor'un as with 
the laws of morality, they will not sullor you to 
profit by experience, nor even to consult the propri- 
ety of a bad character. Even now they tell you 



156 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

that life is no more than a dramatic scene, in which 
the hero should preserve liis consistency to the last ; 
and that as you lived without virtue, you should die 
vnthout repentance. 

JUNIUS 



XXIV. 



To Junii^. 

SIR, September 14, 1769. 

Having, accidentally, seen a republication of your 
letters, wherein you have been pleased to assert, 
that I had sold the companions of my success, I am 
again obliged to declare the said assertion to be a 
most infamous and malicious falsehood ; and I again 
call upon you to stand forth, avow yourself, and 
prove the charge. If you can make it out to the 
satisfaction of any one man in the kingdom, I will 
be content to be thought the worst man in it ; if 
you do not, what must the nation think of you ^ 
Party has nothing to do in this affair : you have 
made a personal attack upon my iionour, defamed 
me by a most vile calumny, which might possibly 
have sunk into oblivion, had not such uncommon 
pains been taken to renew and perpetuate this 
scandal, chiefly because it has been told in good 
language ; for I give you full credit for your elegant 
diction, well-tiirncd periods, and Attic wit: bu 



JUNICS'S LETTERS 167 

Wit (s cftentimes false, though it may appear bril- 
liant ; which is exactly the case of your whole per- 
formance. But, sir, I am obliged, in the most 
serious manner, to accuse you of being guilty oi 
falsities. You have said the th'ing that is not 
To support your story, you have recourse to the 
following irresistible argument : " You sold the 
companions of your victory, because, when the 
16th regiment was given to you, you was silent. 
The conclusion is inevitable." I believe that such 
deep and acute reasoning could only come from 
such an extraordinary writer as Junius. But, un- 
fortunately for you, the premises, as well as the 
conclusion, are absolutely false. Man}' applications 
have been made to the ministry, on the subject of 
the Manilla ransom, since the time of my being 
colonel of that regiment. As I have for some years 
quitted London, I was obliged to have recourse to 
the honourable colonel Monson, and sir Samuel 
Cornish, to negotiate for me. In the last autumn, 
I personally delivered a memorial to the earl o 
Shelburne, at his seat in Wiltshire. As you have 
told us of your importance, that 3'ou are a person 
of rank and fortune, and above a common bribe, 
you may, in all probability, be not unknown to his 
lordship, who can satisfy you of the truth of what 
I say. But I shall now take the liberty, sir, to 
seize your battery, and turn it against yourself. If 
your puerile and tinsel logic could carry the least 
weight or conviction with it, how must 3'ou stand 
aflccted by the inevitable conclusion, as 3'ou are 
pleased to term it ^ According to Junius, silence is 
guilt. In many of the public papers, you have 



158 JUNIUS'S LETTERf. 

been called, in the most direct and offensive terms, a 
liar and a coward. When did you reply to these foul 
accusat ons ? You have been quite silent, quite 
chop-la.len: therefore, because you was silent, the 
nation has a right to pronounce you to be both a liar 
and a coward, from your own argument. But, sir, 
I will give you fair play ; I will afford you an oppor- 
tunity to wipe off the first appellation, by desiring 
the proofs of your charge against me. Produce 
them ! To wipe off the last, produce yourself. Peo- 
ple cannot bear any longer your lion's skin, and the 
despicable imposture of the old Roman name which 
you have affected. For the future, assume the name 
of some modern* bravo and dark assassin: let your 
appellation have some affinity to your practice. But 
if I must perish, Junius, let me perish in the face of 
day: be for once a generous and open enemy. 1 
allow that Gothic appeals to cold iron, are no better 
proofs of a man's honesty and veracity, than hot iron 
and burning plough-shares are of female chastity ; 
jut a soldier's honour is as delicate as a woman's : 
it must not be suspected. You have dared to throw 
more than a suspicion upon mine : you cannot but 
know the consequences, which even the meekness oi 
Christianity would pardon me for, after the injury 
you have done me. 

WILLIAM DRAPER. 



• Was Brutus an ancient brave and dark assassin ? Oi 
i(oes sir \V. D. think it crimina. to stab a tyrant to the 
heart ? 



JUNIUS'SI LETTERS. 159 



XXV. 



Hseret lateri leilialis arundo. 



To Sir William Draper, Knight of the Bath. 

SIR, September 25, 1769- 

After so long an interval, I did not expect to see 
!he debate revived between us. My answer to your 
last letter shall be short; for I write to you with 
reluctance, and I hope we shall now conclude our 
correspondence for ever. 

Had you been originally, and without provoca- 
tion, attacked by an anonymous writer, you would 
have some right to demand liis name. But in this 
cause you are a volunteer. You engaged in it with 
the unpremeditated gallantry of a soldier. You 
were content to set your name in opposition to a 
man who would probably continue in concealment. 
You understood the terms upon which we were to 
correspond, and gave at least a tacit assent to them. 
After voluntarily attacking me, under the character 
of Junius, what possible right have you to know me 
under any other.'' Will you forgive me if I insinuate 
to you, that you foresaw some honour in the appa- 
rent spirit of coming forward in person, and that you 
were not quite indiflerent to the display of your lite- 
rary qi alifications ? 



160 JUOTUS'S LETTERS. 

You cannot but know, thai the republication of m^ 
letters was no more than a catch-penny contrivance 
of a printer, in whicli it was impossible I should be 
concerned, and for which I am no way answerable. 
At the same time, I wish you to understand, that if I 
do not take the trouble of reprinting these papers, it 
is not from any fear of gi\ing offence to sir William 
Draper. 

Tour remarks upon a signature adopted merely for 
distinction, are unworthy of notice : but when you 
tell me I have submitted to be called a liar and a 
coward, I must ask you, in my turn, whether you 
seriously think it any way incumbent on me to take 
notice of the silly invectives of every simpleton who 
writes in a newspaper; and what opinion you would 
have conceived of my discretion, if I had suffered my- 
self to be the dupe of so shallow an artifice r 

Your appeal to the sword, though consisten 
enough with your late profession, will neiti)er prove 
your innocence, nor clear you from suspicion. 
Your complaints with regard to the Manilla ransom, 
were, for a considerable time, a distress to govern- 
ment. You were appointed (greatly out of your 
turn) to the command of a regiment ; and during 
that administration we heard no more of sir William 
Draper. The facts of which I speak may, indeed, 
be variously accounted for ; but they are too notori- 
ous to be denied ; and I think you might luivc learn- 
ed, at the university, that a false conclusion is an 
error in argument, not a breach of veracity. Your 
solicitatioifs, I doubt not, were renewed under another 
Administration. Admitting the fact, I fear an indif- 
erent person would only infer from it, that expen- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 161 

ence had made you acquainted with the benefits o* 
complaining. Remember, sir, that you have your- 
self confessed, tliat, considering the critical situation 
of this country, the ministry aie in the right to tempo- 
rise with Spain. This confession reduces you to an 
unfortunate dilemma. By renewing your solicita- 
tions, you must either uiean to force your country 
into a war at a most unseasonable juncture, or, 
having no view or expectation of that kind, that 
you look for nothing but a private compensation to 
yourself. 

As to me, it is by no means necessary that I should 
be exposed to the resentment of the worst and the 
most powerful men in this couutr}', though I may be 
indifferent about yours. Though you would fight, 
there are others who would assassinate. 

But, after all, sir, where is the injury ? You as- 
sure me, that my logic is puerile and tinsel ; that it 
carries not the least weight or conviction ; that my 
premises are false, and my conclusions absurd. If 
this be a just description of me, how is it possible 
for such a writer to disturb your peace of mind, or 
to injure a character so well established as yours : 
Take care, sir William, how you indulge this un- 
ruly temper, lest the world should suspect that con- 
science has some share in your resentments. You 
have more to fear from the treachery of your own 
passions, than from any malevolence of mine. 

I believe, sir, you w ill never know me. A con- 
siderable time must certainly elapse before we are 
personally acquainted. You need not, however, 
regret the delay, or suffer an apprehension, tnat 
any length of time can restore you to the Christian 

1 1 



162 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

meekness of your temper, and disappoint your pt«- 
Bent indignation. If 1 understand your character, 
there is in your own breast a repository, in which 
your resentments may be safely laid up for future 
occasions, and preserved without the hazard of 
diminution. The odia in longum jacens, qucB re- 
conderet, auctague promeret, I thought had only be- 
longed to the worst character of antiquity. The text 
is in Tacitus: you know best where to look for the 
commentary. 

JUNIUS. 



XXVI 



^ Word at parting to Junius 

• SIR, ' October 7, 1769. 
As you have not favoured me with either of the 

explanations demanded of you, I can have nothing 
more to say to you upon my own account. Your 

• Mea^ires and not men, is the common cant of affected 
moderation : a base counterfeit language, fabricated by 
knaves, and made current among fools. Such gentle cen- 
sure is not fitted to the present degenerate state of society. 
What does it avail to expose the absurd contrivance, or 
pernicious tendency, of measures, if the man who advises 
or executes, shall be suffered, not only to escape with im- 
punity, but even to preserve his power, and insult us with 
ihe favour of his sovereign ? I would rctommenc tc th« 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 1G3 

mercy to me, or tenderness for yourself, has been 
very great. The pubhc will judge of your n)otives 
If your excess of modesty forbids you to produce 
either the proofs or yourself, I will excuse it. 
Take courage, I have not the temper of Tiberius, 
any more than the rank or power. You, indeed, 
are a tyrant of another sort; and upon your politi- 
cal bed of torture, can excruciate any subject, from 
a first minister down to such a grub or butterfly 
as myself; like another detested tyrant of antiquity, 
can make the wretched suflerer fit the bed, if the bed 
will not fit the suflerer, by disjointing or tearing the 
trembling limbs, until they are stretched to its ex 
tremity. But courage, constancy, and patience 
under torments, have sometimes caused the most 
hardened monsters to relent, and forgive the object 
of their cruelty. You, sir, are determined to try ail 
that human nature can endure, until she expires ; 
else, was it possible that you could be the author of 
that most inhuman letter to the duke of Bedford, I 
have read with astonishment and horror ? Where, 



reader the whole of Mr. Pope's letter to Doctor Arbuthnot, 
dated July 26th, 1734, from which the following is an ex- 
trdct : " To reform, and not to chastise, I am afraid, is im- 
possible ; and that the best precepts, as well as the best laws 
would prove of small use, if there were no examples to en- 
force tnem. To attack vices in the abstract, without 
touching nersons, may be safe fighting, indeed, but it ii 
fighting with shadows. My greatest comfort and encou- 
ragement to proceed has been to see, that those who hare 
no shame, and no fear of any thing else^ .lave appi'ared 
aiicli»'() by my satires." 



164 JUINIUS'S LETTERS. 

sir, where were the feehngs of your own heart, when 
you could upbraid a most afiectionate lather with the 
loss of his only and most amiable son ? Read over 
again those cruel lines of yours, and let them wring 
your very soul I Cannot political questions be dis- 
cussed, without descending to the most odious per- 
sonalities ? Must you go wantonly out of your way 
to torment declining age, because the duke of. Bed- 
ford may have quarrelled with those whose cause and 
politics you espouse? For shame! for shame! 
As you have spoken daggers to him, you may justly 
dread the use of them against your own breast, did a 
want of courage, or of noble sentiments, stimulate 
him to such mean revenge. He is above it ; he is 
brave. Do you fancy that your own base arts have 
infected our whole island i But your own reflec- 
tions, your own conscience, must, and will, if you 
have any spark of humanity remaining, give him 
most ample vengeance. Not all the power of words 
with which you are so graced, will ever wash out, or 
even palliate, this foul blot in your character. 1 
have not time, at present, to dissect your letter so 
minutely as 1 could wish ; but I will be bold enough 
to sa}', that it is (as to reason and argument) the 
most extraordinary piece ofjlorid impotence that was 
ever imposed upon the eyes and ears of the too 
credulous and deluded mob. It accuses the duke of 
Bedford of high treason. Upon what foundation ? 
You tell us, " the duke's pecuniary character makes 
it more than probable, that he could not have made 
such sacrifices at the peace, without some private 
compensations: tliat his conduc carried with it an 



JLNIUS'S LETTERS. 165 

interior evidence, beyond all the legal proofs of a 
court of justice." 

My academical education, sir, bids me tell you, thai 
it is necessary to establish the truth of your first 
proposition, before you presume to draw inferences 
from it. First prove the avarice, before you nmke 
the rash, hasty, and most wicked conclusion. This 
father, Junius, whom you call avaricious, allowed 
that son eight thousand pounds a year. Upon his 
most unfortunate death, which your usual good-na- 
ture took care to remind him of, he greatly increased 
the jointure of the afflicted lady his widow. Is this 
avarice .'' Is this doing good by stealth ? It is 
upon record. 

If exact order, method, and true economy, as a 
master of a family ; if splendour, and just magnifi- 
cence, without wild waste and thoughtless extrava- 
gance, may constitute the character of an avaricious 
man, the duke is guilty. But, for a moment, let us 
admit that an ambassador may love money too much ; 
what proof do you give that he has taken any to 
betray his country ? Is it hearsay, or the evidence 
of letters, or ocular ; or the evidence of those con- 
cerned in this black affair ? Produce your authori- 
ties to the public. It is a most impudent kind of 
sorcery, to attempt to blind us with the smoke, with- 
out convincing us that the fire has existed. You 
first brand him with a vice that he is free from, to 
vender him odioui and suspected. Suspicion is the 
foul weapon widi which you make all your chief 
attacks ; with tiiat you stab. But shall one of the 
first subjects of the realm be ruined in his fame, sl^iH 
even his life be in constant danger, from a charge 



166 JUNILS'S LETTERS. 

built upon such sandy foundations? Must liis house 
be besieged by lawless ruffians, Iiis journeys impeded, 
and even the asylum of an altar be insecure fro « 
assertions so base and false f* Potent as he is, the 
duke is amenable to justice ; if yuilty, punishable 
The parliament is the hi<j'' and solemn tribunal for 
matters of such great i uiuent ; to that be they sub- 
mitted. But I hope, also, tliat some notice will bt 
taken of, and some punishment inflicted upon, false 
accusers; especially upon such, Junius, who are wil- 
fully false. In any truth I will agree even with 
Junius ; will agree with him that it is highly unbe- 
coming the dignity of peers to tamper with boroughs. 
Aristocracy is as fatal as democracy. Our consti- 
tution admits of neither. It loves a king, lords, and 
commons, really chosen by the unbought suffrages 
of a free people. But if corruption only shifts hands, 
if the wealthy commoner gives the bribe instead oi 
the potent peer, is the state better served by this ex- 
change.'' Is the real emancipation of the borough 
elTected, because new parchment boiuds may posbibly 
supersede the old ? To say the truth, wherever such 
practices prevail, they are equally criminal to, and 
destructive of, ouk freedom. 

The rest of your declamation is scarce worth con- 
sidering, except for the elegance of the language. 
Like Handet, in the play, you produce two pictures: 
you toll us, that one is not like the duke of Bed- 
ford ; then you bring a most hideous caricature, 
and tell us of the resemblance ; but viultum ahludii 
imago. 

All your long tedious accounts of the ministeria 
quarrels, and the intrigues of the cabinet, are re 



JUNIU«5'S LETTERS. 167 

ducible to a few short lines ; and to convince you, 
sir, that I do not mean to flatter any minister, 
either past or present, these are my thoughts : they 
seem to have acted like lovers, or children ; have* 
pouted, quarrelled, cried, kissed, and been friends 
again, as the objects of desire, the ministerial rattles, 
have been put into their hands. But such proceed- 
ings ai-e very unworthy of the gravity and dignity of 
a great nation. We do not want men of abilities, but 
we have wanted steadiness : we want unanimity; 
your letters, Junius, will not contribute thereto. 
You may one day expire by a flame of your owu 
kindling. But it is my humble opinion, that lenity 
and moderation, pardon and oblivion, will disappoii^t 
the eflforts of all the seditious in the land, and extin- 
guish their wide-spreading fires. I have lived with 
this sentiment ; with this I shall die. 

WILUAiM DRAPER, 



• Sir William gives us a pleasant account of men, who, 
in his opinion at least, are the best qualified to govern an 
cmpue. 



168 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 



xxvu. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, October IS, 1769- 

If sir Wil.'iam Draper's bed be a bed of tortures, he 
has made it for himself. I shall never interrupt hia 
repose. Having changed the subject, there are 
parts of his last letter not undeserving of a reply. 
Leavnig his private character and conduct out of the 
question, I shall consider him merely in the capacity 
of an author, whose labours certainly do no discredit 
to a newspaper. 

We say, in common discourse, that a man may 
be his own enemy ; and the frequency of the fact 
makes the expression intelligible. But that a maw 
should be the bitterest enemy of his friends, implies 
a contradiction of a peculiar nature. There is some- 
thing in it, which cannot be conceived, without a 
confusion of ideas, nor expressed, without a solecism 
in language. Sir William Draper is still that fatal 
friend lord Granby found him. Yet, 1 am ready to 
do justice to his generosity ; if, indeed, it be not 
something more than generous, to be the voluntary 
advocate of men, who think themselves injured by 
his assistance, and to consider nothing in the cause 
he adopts, but the diffi«:uity of defending it. I 
thought, however, he had been better read in ths 
history of the human heart, than to compare or ccn 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 1G9 

found the toitures of the body with those of the tnhid. 
He ought lo have known, though, perhaps, it might 
not be his interest to confess, that no outward tyran- 
ny can reach the mind. If conscience pla^s the 
♦yrant, it would be greatly for the benefit of the 
'orld that she were more arbitrary, and far less 
» arable, than some men find her. 

But it seems I have outraged the feelings of a 
father's heart. Am I, indeed, so injudicious ? Does 
sir William Draper think I would have hazarded my 
credit with a generous nation, by so gross a viola- 
tion of the laws of humanity? Docs he think I am 
so little acquainted with the first and noblest charac- 
teristic of Englishujen ? Or, how will he reconcile 
such folly with an understanding so full of artifice as 
mine ? Had he been a faiher, he would have been 
but little oflended with the severity of the reproach, 
for his mind would have been filled with the justide 
of it. He would have seen, that I did not insult the 
feelings of a father, but the father who felt nothing. 
He would have trusted to tlie evidence of his own 
paternal heart, and boldly denied the possibility of 
the fact, instead of defending it. Against whom, 
then, will his honest indignation be directed, u hen 1 
assure him, that this whole town beheld the duke of 
Bedford's conduct, upon the death of his son, with 
horror and astonishment.'' Sir William Draper doei 
himself but little honour in opposing the general 
sense of his country. The people are seldom wrong 
in their opinions ; in their sentiments they are never 
mistaken. There may be a vanity, j)erh;\ps, in a sin- 
gular way of thinking : but, when a man professes a 
want of those feelings which do honour to tlio nnilti- 

VOL. T. T! 



170 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

mde, he hazards something infinitely more important 
than the character of his understanding. After all, 
as sir William may possibly be in earnest n his anxi- 
ety for the duke of Bedford, I should be glad to re- 
lieve hiiia from it. He may rest assuredj* his worthj' 
nobleman laughs, with equal indifference, at my re 
preaches, a'ld sir William's distress about him. But 
here let it stop. Even the duke of Bedford, insensi- 
ble as he is, will consult the tranquillity of his life, in 
not provoking the moderation of my temper. If 
from the profoundest contempt, I should ever rise 
into anger, he should soon find, that all 1 have already 
said of him was lenity and compassion. 

Out of a long catalogue, sir William Draper has 
confined himself to the refutation of two charges only. 
The rest he had not time to discuss , and, indeed, it 
would have been a laborious undertaking. To draw 
up a defence of such a series of enormities, would 
have required a life, at least, as long as that which 
has been uniformly employed in the practice of iliem. 
The public opinion of the duke of Bedford's extreme 
economy is, it seems, entirely without foundation. 
Though not verv prodigal abroad, in his own family, 
at least, he is regular and magnificent. He pays hia 
debts, abhors a beggar, and makes a handsome pro- 
vision for his son. His charity has improved upon 
the proverb, and ended where it began. Admitting 
the whole force of this single instance of his domestic 
generosity, (wonderful, indeed, considering the nar- 
rowness of his fortune, and the little merit of his only 
son) the public may still, perhaps, be dissatisfied, 
and demand some other less equivocal proofs of his 
•■nunificence. Sir William Draper should have en- 



JUMUSS LETTERS. 171 

tered boldly into the detail of indigence relieved, of 
arts encouraged, of science patronised, men of learn- 
ing protected, and works of genius rewarded. lu 
short, iiad there been a single instance, besides Mr 
Rigby,* of blushing merit, brought forward by the 
duke for the service of the public, it should not have 
been omitted. 

I wish it were possible to establish my inference 
with the same certainty on which 1 believe the prin- 
ciple is founded. My conclusion, however, was not 
drawn from the principle alone. I am not so unjust 
as to reason from one crime to another: though i 
think that, of all tiie vices, avarice is most apt to 
taint and corrupt the heart. 1 combined the known 
temper of the man, with the extravagant concessions 
made by the ambassador ; and though 1 doubt not 
sufficient care was taken to leave no document of any 
treasonable negotiation, I still maintain that the con- 
duct! of this minister carries with, it an internal and 
convincing evidence against him. Sir William Dra- 
per seems not to know the value or force of such a 
proof. He will not permit us to judge of the mo- 
tives of men, by the manifest tendency of their ac- 
tions, nor by the notorious character of their minds. 



* This gentleman is supposed to have the same idea o{ 
blushing, that a man, blind from his birtii, has of scarlet or 
&ky-blue. 

t If sir \V. D. will lake the trouble of looking into Torey'a 
Memoirs, lie will see will- wluit little ceremony a bribe may 
be offered to a duke, and ilh what little ce/emony it waj 
OTdy not accepU-d 



172 JUNIUS'S L.ETTERS. 

He calls for papers and witnesses with triumphant 
security, as if nothing could be true but what could 
be proved in a court of justice. Yet a religious man 
might have remembered upon what foundation some 
truths, most interesting to mankind, have been re- 
ceived and established. If it wore not for the inter- 
nal evidence which the purest of religions carries 
with it, what would have become of his once well- 
quoted decalogue, and of the meekness of his Chris- 
lianity .'' 

The generous warmth of his resentment makes 
iiim confound the order of events. He forgets, 
that the insults and distresses which the duke of 
Be,dford has suffered, and which sir William has 
lamented, with many delicate touches of the true 
pathetic, were only recorded in my letter to his 
grace, not occasioned by it. It was a simple, can- 
did narrative of facts ; though, for aught I know. 
It may carry with it something prophetic. His 
grace, undoubtedly, lias received several ominous 
hints ; and, I think, in certain circumstances, a 
wise man would do well to prepare himself for the 
event. 

But I have a charge of a heavier nature against 
sir William Draper. He tells us, that the duke o( 
Bedford is amenable to justice; that parliament is 
a high and solemn tribunal ; and that, if guilty, 
he may be punished by due course of law ; and all 
this he says with as much gravity as if he believed 
one word of the matter. I hope, indeed, die day 
of impeachments will arrive before this nobleman 
escapes out of life ; but, to refer us to that mode 
of proceeding now, with such a ministry and sucb 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 173 

a house of commons as tlie present, «hat is it 
but an indecent mockery of the con)mDn sense oi 
the nation ? I iliink ho might have contented him- 
self witli defending tlie greatest enemy, without in- 
sulting the distresses of his country. 

His concluding declaration of his opinion, with 
respect to the present condition of affairs, is too 
loose and undetermined to be of any service to the 
public. Ho'.v strange is it that this gentleman 
should dedicate so much time and argument to the 
defence of worthless or indifferent characters, while 
he gives but seven solitary lines to the only subject 
which can deserve his attention, or do credit to his 
abilities ! 

JUNIUS. 



XXVIII. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, October 20, 1769. 

1 very sincerely applaud the spirit with which a 
lady has paid the debt of gratitude to her benefactor. 
Though I think she has mistaken the point, she 
shows a virtue which makes her respectable. The 
question turned upon the personal generosity or ava- 
rice of a man, whose private fortune is immense. 
The proofs of his munificence m»8t be drawn from 
the uses to which he has applied that fortune. I was 
not ?prnkinp of n lord linitnnnnt of Ireland, but of s 



174 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

rich English duke, whose wealth gave hiin the meana 
of doing as much good in this country, as he derived 
from liis power in anotiier. I am far from wishing 
to lessen tlie merit ol' thii. single benevolent action j 
perhaps it is the more conspicuous, from standing 
alone. All I mean to say is, that it proves nothing 
in the preseu* argument. 

JUNIUS. 



XXIX. 

Addressed to the Printer of the Public Advertiser 

SIR, October 19, 1769- 

I am well assured that Junius will never descend 
to a dispute with such a writer as Modestus (whose 
letter appeared in the Gazetteer of Monday), espe- 
cially as the dispute must be chiefly about words. 
Notwithstanding the partiality of the public, it does 
not appear that Junnis values himself upon any su- 
perior skill in composition : and I hope his time 
will always be more usefully employed than in the 
trifling refinements of verbal criticism. Modestus, 
however, shall have no reason to triumph in the 
silence and moderation of Junius. If he knew as 
much of the propriety of language, as, 1 believe, he 
does of the facts in question, he would have been 
as cautious of attacking Junius upon his composi- 
tion, as he seems to be of entering into the subject of 
it : yet, after all, the last is the only article of any 
importance to the public 

I do not wonder at the unremitted rancour with 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. ns 

which the duke of Bedford and his adherents inva- 
riably speaii of a nation, which we well know has 
been too much injured to be easily forgiven. But 
why must Junius be an Irishman ? The absurdity 
of his writings betrays him. Waving all considera- 
tion of the insult offered by Modestus to the de- 
clared judgment of the people (they may well bear 
tisis amongst the rest) let us follow the several instan 
ces, and try whether the charge be fairly supported. 

1. Then, the leaving a man to enjoy such a re- 
pose as he can find upon a bed of torture, is severe 
indeed ; perhaps too much so, when applied to such 
a trifler as sir William Draper ; but there is nothing 
absurd either in ihe idea or expression. Modestus can- 
not distinguish between a sarcasm and a contradiction. 

2. I afilrm, with Junius, that it is the frequency 
of the fact which alone can make us comprehend 
how a man can be his own enemy. We should 
never arrive at the complex idea conveyed by those 
words, if we had only seen one or two instances of 
a man acting to his own prejudice. Offer tlie pro- 
position to a child or a man unused to compound 
his ideas, and you will soon see how little eitlier 
of them understand you. It is not a simple idea 
arising from a single fact, but a very complex iuea 
arising from many facts, vvell observed, and accu- 
rately compared. 

3. Modestus could not, without great affectation, 
mistake the meaning of Junius, when he speaks oi 
a man. who is the bitterest enemy of his friends. 
He could not but know, that Junius spoke not ot a 
false or hollow friendship, but of a real intention to 
ierv r, and th.it iiitentinn producing the worst effecti 



176 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

of enmity. Whether the description be strictly appii 
cable to Sir William Draper, is another (juestion. 
Junius does not say, that it is more criminal for a 
man to be the enemy of his friends than his own; 
though he might have affirmed it with truth. In a 
noral light, a man may certainly take greater liber- 
ties with himself, than with another. To sacrifice 
ourselves merely, is a weakness we may indulge m, 
if Vie think proper, for we do it at our own hazard 
sad expense; but, under the pretence of friendshipj 
to -^port v.'ith the reputation, or sacrifice the honour, 
of another, is something worse than weakness ; and 
if, in favour of the foolish intention, we do not call 
it a crime, we must allow, at least, that it arises from 
an overweening, busy, meddling impudence. Junius 
says only, and he says truly, that it is more extra- 
ordinary ; that it involves a greater contradiction 
than the other; and, is it not a maxim received in 
life, that, in general, we can determine more wisely 
ft)r others than for ourselves ? The reason of it is 
so clear in argument, that it hardly wants the con- 
finiialion of experience. Sir William Draper, I 
confess, is an exception to the general rule, though 
not much to his credit. 

4. If this gentleman will go back to his etiiics, 
he may, perhaps, discover the truth of what Junius 
says. That no outward tyranny can reach the mind. 
The tortures of the body may be introduced, by 
w ay of ornament or illustration, to represent those 
of tlie mind ; but, strictly, there is no similitude be- 
tween them : they are totally different, both in their 
cause and operation. The wretch who suffers upoi. 
'.he rack is merely passive : but, when the mind i» 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 177 

toriured, it i-^ not at the cominaud of any outward 
power ; it is tht sense of guilt vvhicli constitutes the 
punishment, and creates that torture, with which the 
guilty mind acts upon itself. 

5. He misquotes wiiat Junius says of conscience, and 
makes the sentence ridiculous, by making it his own. 

So much for composition. Now for fact. Junius, 
it seems, has mistaken the duke of Bedford. His 
grace had all the proper feelings of a father, ihough 
he took care to suppress the appearance of them. 
lei it was an occasion, one would think, on which 
he need not have been ashamed of his grief; on 
which less fortitude would have done him more 
honour. I can conceive, indeed, a benevolent mo- 
tive for his endeavouring to assume an air of tran- 
(juillity in his own family ; and I wish I could dis- 
cover any thing, in the rest of his character, to 
justify my assigning that motive to his behaviour. 
But is there no medium .'^ AVas it necessary to ap- 
pear abroad, to ballot at the India-House, and make 
a public display, though it were only of an apparent 
insensibility .'' I know we are treading on tender 
ground; and Junius, I am convinced, does not wish 
to urge this question farther. Lei the friends of v,he 
duke of Bedford observe that humble silence which 
becomes their situation. They should recollect, that 
there are still some facts in store at which human 
nature would shudder. I shall be understood by 
those whom it concerns, when I say, that these facts 
go farther than to the duke.* 

• Within a fortnight after lord Tavistock's death, the 
venerable Gertrude had a rout at Bedford liouse. Tlw 
H 2 J '2 



178 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

It is not inconsistent to suppose, that a man majp 
be quite iudifferent about one part of a charge, yet 
severely slung with another ; aid though, he leels no 
•enriorse, that he may wish to be revenged. The 
charge of insensibihty carries a reproach, indeed, but 
no danger with it. Junius had said. There are others 
who would assassinate. Modestus, knowing his man, 
will not siifl'er the insinuation to be divided, but 
iixes all v5pon the duke of Bedford. 

Without determining upon what evidence Junius 
wo'j'id choose to be condemned, I will venture to 
maintain, in opposition to Modestus, or to Mr, 
iigby, (who is certainly not Modestus) or any of the 
Bloomsbury gang, that the evidence against the duke 
of Bedford is as strong as any presumptive evidence 
can be. It depends upon a combination of facts and 
reasoning, which require no confirmation from the 
anecdote of the duke of Marlborough. This anec- 



good duke (who had cnly sixty thousand pounds a year) 
ordered an inventory to be taken of his son's wearing ap- 
parel, down to liis slippers, sold them all, and put the 
money in bis pocket. The amiable marchioner><?j shocked 
at such brutal, unfeeling avarice, gave the value of the 
clothes to the mai quis's servant, out of her own purse. 
That incomparable woman did not long survive her hus- 
band. When she died, the duchess of Bedford treated her 
as the duke had treated his only son : she ordered every 
gown and trinket to be sold, and pocketed the money. 
These are the monsters whom sir William Draper comes 
forward to defend. May God protect me from doing any 
thing that may require such defence or to deserve sucii 
friendship. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 79 

dote was referred to, merely to show ho\r ready a 
great man may be to receive a great bribe ; and if 
Modestus could read the original, he would see, tiiat 
the expression only not accepted, was, probably, the 
only one in our language that exactly fitted the case. 
The bribe oflered to the duke of Marlborough was 
not refused. 

I cannot conclude without taking notice of this 
honest gentleman's learning, and wishing he had 
given us a little more of it. When he accidentally 
found himself so near speaking truth, it was rather 
unfair of him to leave out the non potuisse refelli. 
As it stands, the pudet hcec opprobria may be divided 
equally between Mr. Rigby and the duke of Bedford. 
Mr. Rigby, I take for granted, will assert his natural 
right to the modesty of the quotation, and leave a;! 
the opprobrium to his grace. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



XXX. 

To the Printe' 9/ the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, October 1?, 1769. 

It is not wonderful toat the great cause in which 
this country is engaged, should have roused and en- 
grossed tlje whole attention of the people. I rather 
admi.''e the generous spirit with which tliey feel and 
assert their 'nterest in this important question, than 
blame them for their indillerence about any other. 
When the eonstitution is openly invaded, when the 



180 JUNIUS'S LET'lERS. 

first original right of the people, from which ?*11 hiws 
derive their authority, is directly attacked, inferior 
grievances naturally lose their force, and are suf- 
fered to pars by without punishment or observation. 
The present ministry are as singularly marked by 
their fortune, as tiieir crimes. Instead of atoning for 
their former conduct, by any wise or popular men- 
sure, they ha\'e found, in the enormity of one fact, a 
cover and defence for a series of measures, whicli 
must have been fatal to any other administration. 1 
fear we are too remiss in observing the wliole of their 
proceedings. Struck with the principal figure, we 
do not sufficiently mark in what manner the canvass 
is filled up. Yet surely it is not a less crime, noi:^ 
less fatal in its coiiSequences, to encourage a flagrant 
breach of the law, by a military force, than to make 
use of the forms of parliament to destroy the consti- 
tution. — The ministry seem determined to give us a 
choice of difiiculties, and, if possible, to perplex us 
with the multitude of their oflences. The expedient 
is worthy of the duke of Grafton. But though he 
has preserved a gradation and variety in his mea- 
sures, we should remember that the principle is un - 
form. Dictatec" by the same spirit, they deserve the 
same attention The following fact, though of the 
most alarming nature, has not yet been clearly stated 
to the public ; nor have the consequences of it been 
6ufficie:.'.ly understood. — Had I taken it up at an 
earlier period, I should have been accused of an un- 
candid, malignant precipitation, as if I watched for 
an unfair advantage against the ministry, and would 
not a'low them a reasona'^le time to *)o their duty. 
Vhey now stand without excuse, lubtead of em- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 181 

Dioying tt.e leisure they have liad, in a strict exami- 
nation of the ofl'eacc, and punishing the cfiendors, 
tiicy seem to have considered that indulgence as a 
security to them ; that, with a little time and man- 
agement, the ^yhole aflair might be buried in silence, 
and utterly forgotten. 

A major general* of the army is arrested by the 
sherifl''s officers for a considerable debt. He per- 
suades them to conduct him to the Tilt-yard, in St. 
James's Park, under some pretence of business, 
which it imported him to settle before he was con- 
fined. He applies to a serjeant, not immediately on 
duty, to assist, with some of his companions, in fa- 
vouring his escape. He attempts it. A busde en- 
sues. The bailifls claim their prisoner. 

An officer of the guards,t not then on duty, takes 
part in the affair, applies to the lieutenant^ com- 
manding the Tilt-yard guard, and urges him to turn 
out his guard to relieve a general officer. The lieu- 
tenant declines interfering in person, but stands at 
a distance, and suflers the business to be done. The 
officer takes upon himself to order out the guard. In 
a moment they are in arms, quit their guard, march, 
rescue the general, and drive away the sheriff's olFi- 
cers, who, in vain, represent their right to the prison- 
er, and the nati'.re of the arrest. The soldiers first 
conduct the general into the guard-room, then escort 
him to a place of safety, with bayonets fixed, and in 
all the forms of Uillltary triumph. I will not enlarge 
upon the various circumstances which attended this- 

* Major-general Gansel. 
t Lieutenant Dodd. J Lieutenant Garth. 



182 JUNIUS'S .ETTERs. 

atroci jus proceeding The personal injury received 
by tlie officers of the law, in the execution of theii 
duty, may, perhaps, be atoned for by some private 
compensation. I consider nothing but the wound 
which has been given tj the law itself, to which nc 
remedy has been applied, no satisfaction made. 
Neither is it ni}' design to dwell upon the misconduct 
of the parties concerned, any farther than is necessary 
to show the behaviour of the ministry in its true 
light. I would make every compassionate allow- 
ance for the infatuation of the prisoner, tiie false and 
criunnal discretion of one officer, and the madness of 
anoiiier. I would leave the ignorant soldiers entirely 
out of the question. They are certainly the least 
guilty ; though they are the only persons who have 
yet sufi'ered, even in the appearance of punishment.* 
The fact itself, however atrocious, is not the prin- 
cipal point to be considered. It might have happen- 
ed under a more regular government, and with guards 
better disciplined than ours. The main question is, 
III w hat manner have the ministry acted on this ex- 
traordinary occasion f A general officer calls upon 
the king's own guard, then actually on duty, to res- 
cue him from the laws of his country : yet, at this 
monient, he is in a situation no worse than if he had 
not committed an offence equally enormous in a civil 
a id military view. A lieutenant upon duty design- 
edly quits his guard, and sufiers it to be drawn out 
by another officer, for a purpose, which he well knew 
fas we may collect from an appearance of caution, 
which on y makes his behaviour the more criminal] 

• A few of them were confined 



JUNIUS^ LETTERS. 183 

to be iu tlia highest degree illegal. Has this gentle- 
man been called to a court martial to answer for his 
conduct ? No. Has it been censured ? No. Has 
it been in any shape inquired into : No. Another 
lieutenant, not upon duty, nor even in his regimentals, 
is daring enough to order out the king's guard, over 
which he had properly no command, and engages 
them in a violation of the laws of his country, per- 
haps the most singular and extravagant that ever 
was attempted What punishment I as he suffered ? 
Lherally none. Supposing he should be prosecuted 
at common law for the rescue; will that circumstance, 
from which the ministry can derivf no merit, excuse 
or justify their suffering so flagrant a breach of mili- 
tary discipline to pass by unpunislied and unnoticed .'" 
Are tliey aware of the outrage ofl'ered to their sove- 
reign, when his own proper guard is ordered out to 
stop, by main force, the execution of his laws.'' What 
are we to conclude from so scandalous a neglect o/ 
their duty, but thai they have other views, which can 
only bo uus.veieJ bv securing tl»e attachmejit of the 
guards.'' The minister would hardly be so cautious 
of offending them, if he did not mean, in due time, to 
call for their assistance. 

With respect to the parties themselves, let it be 
observed, that these gcr.tlemen are neither young 
oflicers, nor very young men. Had they belonged 
lo the unfledged race of ensigns, who infest oi'r 
streets, and dishonour our public places, it migjjt, 
perhaps, be sufliiient to send them back to that dis- 
cipline from which their parents, judging ligiitly from 
the maturity of their vices, had removed them too 
lOon In this case, I am sorry to see, not so much 



184 JUNIUS'S LETTEIIS. 

the folly of youths, as the spirit of the corps, and the 
connivance of government. I do not question thai 
here are many brave and worthy ofiicers in the re^ 
giments of guards. But considering tliem as a corps, 
I fear, it will be found, that they are neither good 
soldiers nor good subjects. Far be it from me to 
insinuate the most distant reflection upon the army. 
On the contrary, I honour and esteem the profession ; 
and, if these gentlemen were better soldiers, I am 
sure they would be better subjects. It is not that 
there is any internal vice or defect in the profession 
itself, as regulated in this country, but that it is the 
spirit of this particular corps to despise their profes- 
sion : and that, while they vainly assume the lead ol 
the army, they make it matter of impertinent com- 
parison, and triumph over the bravest troops in the 
world (I mean our marching regiments) that they, 
indeed, stand upon higher ground, and are privileged 
to neglect the laborious forms of military discipline 
and duty. Without dwelling longer upon a most 
nividious subject, I shall leave it to military men, who 
have seen a service more active than the parade, to 
determine whether or no I speak truth. 

How far this dangerous spirit has be(;n encouraged 
by government, and to what pernicious purposes it 
may be applied hereafter, well deserves our most 
serious consideration. I know, indeed, that, when 
this affair iiappened, an affectation of alarm ran 
through the ministry. Something must be done to 
save appearances. The case was too flagrant to be 
passed by absolutely wit) out notice. But how have 
they acted f Instead of ordering the officers con- 
cerned (and who, strictl}' speaking, are alo^ie guilty 



JUiNlUS'b ul'-irERS. 185 

to be put nder arrest, and UruKght to trial, thej 
would have it understood, that tiiey did their dut^r 
couiplelely, in confining a Serjeant and four private 
soldiers, until they should be demanded by the civil 
power : so that while the ofiicers, who ordered or 
permitted the thing to be done, escaped without cen- 
sure, the poor men, who obeyed these orders, who, in 
a military view, are no way responsible for what they 
ilid, and who, for that reason, have been discharged 
by the civil m-jgistrates, are the only objects whom 
the ministry have thought proper to expose to pun- 
ishment. They did not venture to bring even these 
men to a court martial, because they knew their evi- 
dence would be fatal to some persons whom they were 
determined to protect ; otherwise, I doubt not, the 
lives of these unhappy, friendless soldiers, would long 
since have been sacrificed without scruple, to the se- 
curity of their guilty officers. 

I have been accused of endeavouring to inflame 
the passions of the people. Let me now appeal to 
their understanding. l{ there be any tool of adminis- 
tration, daring enough to deny these facts, or shame- 
less enough to defend the conduct of the ministry, let 
him come forward. I care not under what title he 
appears. He shall find me ready to maintain the 
truth of my narrative, and the justice of my observa- 
tions upon it, at the hazard of my utmost cred't with 
the public. 

Under the most arbitrary governments, the commoa 
adm'nistration of justice is suflered to take its course. 
The su!)j('ct, diough robbed of his share in the legis- 
lature, is still protected by the laws. The political 
freedom of the Englisl/ constitution was once 'he 



£86 JUNIUS'S r.ETTERS 

oride and honour of an Englishman. The civi 
equality of the laws preserved the property, and de- 
fended the safely of the sul)ject. Are these glorious 
privileges the birthriglii of the people, or are we only 
tenants at the \\ill of tiie ministry? But that I know 
there is a spirit of resistance in the hearts of my coun- 
trymen; that they value life, not by its conveniences, 
but by the indepeudence and dignity of their condi- 
tion ; I 'should, at this luoment, apjieal only to their 
discretion. J should persuade them to banish from 
their minds all memor}' of what we were; I should 
tell them this is not a time to remend)er that we were 
Ejiglishmen ; and give it, as my last advice, to make 
some early agreement with the minister, that, since 
it has pleased him to rob us of those political rights, 
which once distinguished the inhabitants of a country 
where honour was happiness, he would leave us at 
least the humble, obedient security of citizens, and 
graciously condescend to protect us in our submission. 

JUNIUS. 



XXXI. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 
SIR, November 14, 1760. 

The variety of remarks which have been made 
upon the last letter of Junius, and my own opinion 
of the writer, who, whatever may be his faults, is cer- 
tainly not a weak man, have induced me to examine, 
with some attention, the subject of that letter. I 
could not persuade myself, that, w bile he had plenty 
of important matcirials, he would have taken up a 
light or trifling occas'on to atiick the ministry 



JWNIUS'S LETTERS. bl 

much less could I conceive, ihat it was his intention 
to ruin the oirurers conceriieil iii the rescue of general 
Gansel, or to injure the general himself. These are 
little objects, and can no vva^y contribute to the great 
purposes he seems to have in view, by addressing 
himseh'to tlie public. Without considering the orna- 
mented style he has adopted, 1 determined to look 
farther into the matter, before I decided upon the 
merits of his letter. The first step I took was to in- 
quire into the truth of the facts; for, if these were 
either false or misrepresented, the most aitful exer- 
tion of his understandinc:, in reasoning upon them, 
would oidy be a disgrace to him. Now, sir, I have 
found every circumstance stated by Junius to bo lite- 
rally true.— General Gansel persuaded the bailiirs to 
conduct hiin to the parade, and certaiidy solicited a 
corporid, and other soldiers, to assist him in makini/ 
his escape. Captain Dodd did certainly apply to 
captain Garth for the assistance of his guard. Cnp- 
tnin Garth declined appearing himself, but stood 
aloof, while the other took upon him to order out the 
' king's guard, and by main force rescued the general. 
It is also strictly true, that the general was escorted 
by a file of musqueteers to a place of security. These 
are facts, Mr. Woodfall, which I promise you no gen- 
\leman in the guards vvil deny. If all or any of them 
are false, why are they not contradicted by tie parties 
themselves .'' However secure against military cen- 
sure, they have yet a character to lose ; and, surely, 
if they are innocent, it is not beneatli them to pay 
some attention to the opinion of the public. 

The force of Junius's observations upon these facta 
cannot be better marked, than by stating and refuting 
the ob;pr!lon« which Imve boon mnde to them. One 



188 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

w^rlter sa_ys, " Admitting the officers have offended, 
they are punishable at common law ; and will yon 
have a British subject punished twice for the same 
offence ?" I answer, that they have committed two 
offences, both very enormous, and violated two laws. 
The rescue is one offence, the flagrant breach of dis- 
cipline another ; and hitherto it does not aj)pear that 
ihey have been punished, or even censured for either. 
Another gentleman lays much stress upon the calami- 
ty of the case ; and, instead of disproving facts, ap- 
peals at once to the compassion of the public. This 
idea, as well as the insinuation, that, depriving the 
parties of their commissions would be an injury to 
their creditors, can only refer to general Gansel. 
The other officers are in no distress; therefore, have no 
claim to compassion : nor does it appear that their 
creditors, if they have any, are more likely to be 
satisfied by their continuing in tlie guards. But this 
sort of plea will not hold in any shape. Compassion to 
an offender, who has grossly violated the laws, is, in ef- 
fect, a cruelty to the peaceable subject who has observ- 
ed them : and, even admitting the force of any alleviat-. 
ing circumstances, it is nevertheless true, that, in this 
instance, the royal compassion has interposed too soon. 
The legal and proper mercy of a king flf England may 
remit the punishment, but ought not to stop the trial. 
Besides these particular objections, there has been 
a cry raised against Junius, for his malice and injus- 
tice in attacking the ministry upon an event which 
the}' could neither hinder nor foresee. This, I must 
affirm, is a false representation of his argument. He 
lays no stress upon the event itself, as a ground of 
accusation against the ministry, but dwells entirely 
upon their siib^equent conduct. He does n(U say that 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 189 

they ire answerable for th6> offence, but for the scan- 
dalo iS neglect of their duty, in suffering an offence so 
flagrant to pass by without notice or inquiry. Sup- 
posiig them ever so regardless of what they owe to 
the public, and as indifferent about the opinion, as 
ihey are about tlie interests of their country', what an- 
swei', as officers of the crown, will they give to Junius, 
wlien he asks them, " Are they aware of the outrage 
offered to their sovereign, when his own proper guard 
is ordered out to stop, by main force, the execution 
of his laws ?" And when we see a ministry giving 
such a strange, unaccountable protection to the officers 
of the guards, is it unfair to suspect that they have 
some secret and unwarrantable motives for their con- 
duct f If they feel themselves injured by such a sus- 
picion, why do they not immediately clear themselves 
from it by doing their duty? For the honour of the 
guards, 1 cannot help expressing another suspicion, 
that if the commanding officer had not received a 
secret injunction to the contrary, he would, in the 
ordinary course of his business, have applied for a 
court martial to try the two subalterns; the one for 
quitting his guard, the other for taking upon him the 
comn)and of the guard, and employing it in the man- 
ner he did. I do not mean to enter into, or defend, 
llie severity with which Junius treats the guards. On 
the contrary, I will suppose, for a moment, that they 
deserve a very different character. If this be true, in 
what light will they consider the conduct of the two 
subalterns, but as a general reproach and disgrace to 
the whole corps .'* And will they not wish to see them 
censured, in a military way, if it were only for the 
credit and discipline of the regiment ^ 

Upon the whole, sir, the ministry seem to me to 



190 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

nave taken a verj'^ improper advantage of the good 
nature of the public, whose humanity, they found, 
considered nothing in this aflair but the distress ol 
general Gansel. They would persuade us, that il 
was only a common rescue by a few disorderly 
soldiers, and not the formal, deliberate act of the 
king's guard, headed by an officer ; and the public 
has fallen into the deception. I think, therefore, we 
are obliged to Junius for the care he has taken to 
inquire into the facts, and for the just commentary 
with which he has given them to the world. For 
my own part, I am as unwilling as any man to load 
the unfortunate ; but really, sir, the precedent with 
respect to the guards, is of a most important nature, 
and alarming enough (considering the consequences 
with which it may be attended) to deserve a parlia- 
mentary inquiry. When the guards are daring 
enough, not only to violate their own discipline, but 
publicly, and, with the most atrocious violence, to 
stop the execution of the laws, and when such extra- 
ordinary offences pass with impunity, believe me, sir, 
(he precedent strikes deep. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



XXXII. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, November 15, 17 69. 

I admit the claim of a gentleman, who publishes in 
!he Gazetteer under the name of Modestus. He has 
some right to expect an answer from me; though, 
i think, not so much from the merit or importance 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 191 

3f his objections, as from my own voluntary enjrage- 
ment. I liad a reason for not taking; notice of liiin 
soonev, wliich, as be is a candid person, I believe, ho 
will think sufficient. In my first letter, I took for 
granted, from the time which had elapsed, that there 
was no intention to censure, or even to try, the per- 
sons concerned in the rescue of general Gansel : but 
Modestus having since either affirmed, or strongly in- 
sinuated, that the offenders might still be brought to 
a legal trial, any attempt to prejudge the cause, or to 
prejudice the minds of a jury, or a court-martial, 
would be highly improper. 

A man more hostile to the ministry than I am, would 
not so often remind them of their duty. If the diske 
of Grafton vvill not perform the duty of his station, 
why is he minister ? I will not descend to a scurrilous 
altercation with any man; but this is a subject too 
important to be passed over with silent indifl'erence 
If the gentlemen, whose conduct is in question, are 
not brought to a trial, the duke of Grafton shall hear 
from me again. 

The motives on whicli I am supposed to have taken 
up this cause, are of little importance, compared with 
the facts themselves, and the observations I have made 
upon them. Without a vain profession of integrity, 
which in these times might justly be suspected, I shall 
^hoN^ myself, in etfect, a friend to the interests of my 
lountrymen; and leave it to them to determine, 
whether I am moved by a personal malevolence to 
three private gentlemen, or merely by a hope of 
perplexing the ministry; or whether I am animated 
by a just and honourable purpose of obtaining a satis- 
faction to the laws of this country, equal, if possible, 
to the violation thev have suffered. JUNIUS 



192 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

XXXIII. 

To his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, November 29, 1769 

Though my opinion of your grace's integrity wai 
but little affected by the coyness with vvliich you re- 
ceived Mr. Vaughan's proposals, I confess I give you 
some credit for your discretion. You had a fair op- 
portunity of displaying a certain delicacy, of %vhich 
vou had not been suspected, and you were in the rigiit 
to make use of it. By laying in a moderate stock ol 
reputation, you undoubtedly meant to provide for the 
future necessities of your character, that, with an 
honourable resistance upon record, you might safely 
indulge your genius, and yield to a favourite inclina- 
tion with security. But you have discovered your 
purposes too soon; and, instead of the modest reserve 
of virtue, iiave shown us the termagant chastity of a 
prude, who gratifies her passions with distinction, and 
prosecutes one lover for a rape, while she solicits the 
lewd embraces of another. 

Your cheek turns pale : for a guilty conscience teiis 
you, you are undone. Come forward, thou virtuous 
minister, and tell the world by what interest Mr. Hine 
lias been recommended to so extraordinary a mark o. 
his majesty's favour; what was the price of the paten', 
he lias bought, and to wiiat lionourable purpose tbf 
purchase-money has been applied. Nothing less thaw 
many thousands could pay colonel Burgoyne's ex- 
penses at Preston. Do you dare to prosecute such a 
creature as Vaughan, while you are basely setting up 
tlie ro3al patronage to auction? Do you dare to 
complain of an attack upon vour own honour, vhilfl 



JITNIUS'S LETTERS. 193 

yoii are selling the favours of the crown, to raise a 
fund for corrupting the morals of the people ? And 
do you think it is possible such enormities should es- 
cape without impeachment .'' It is, indeed, highly your 
interest to maintain the present house of commons- 
Having sold the nation to you in gross, they will un- 
doubtedly protect you in the detail; for, while they pat- 
ronise your crimes, they feel for their own. JUNIUS 

XXXIV. 

To his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, December 12, 1769 

I find, with some surprise, that you are not sup 
ported as you deserve. Your most determined advo- 
cates have scruples about them, which you are unac- 
quainted with ; and though there be nothing toe 
hazardous for your grace to engage in, there are some 
things too infamous for the vilest prostitute of a news- 
paper to defend.* In what other manner shall we 
account for the profound, submissive silence which 
yoM and your friends have observed upon a charge 
which called immediately for the clearest refutation, 
and would have justified the severest measures of re- 
sentment ? I did not attempt to blast your charac- 
ter by an indirect, ambiguous insinuation ; but can- 
didly stated to you a plain fact, which struck directly 

* From the publication of the preceding to this date, not 
one word was said in defence of the duke of Grafton. 
But vice and impudence soon recovered themselves, and the 
sale of the royai favour was openly avowed and defended. 
We acknowledge the piety of St. James's, but what is be- 
come of its morality ? 

vol,, t 1 IS 



194 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

at the integrity of a privy-counsellor, of a first com- 
missioner of the treasury, and of a leading minister, 
who is supposed to enjoy the first share m his majes- 
ty's confidence.* In every one of these capacities 1 
employed the most moderate terms to charge you 
with treachery to your sovereign, and breach of trust 
in your office. I accused you of having sold a patent 
place in the collection of the customs at Exeter to 
one Mr. Hine, wlio, unable or unwilling to depo!-it 
the whole purchase-money himself, raised part of it 
by contribution, and has now a certain doctor Brooke 
quartered upon the salary for one hundred pounds a 
year. No sale by the candle was ever conducted with 
greater formality. I affirm, that the price at which 
the place was knocked down (and which, I have good 
reason to think, was not less than three thousand five 
hundred pounds) was, with your connivance and con- 
sent, paid to colonel Burgoyne, to reward him, I 
presume, for the decency of iiis deportment at Pres- 
ton 5 or to reimburse him, perhaps, for the fine of one 
thousand pounds, which, for that very deportment, 
the court of king's bench thought proper to set upon 
him. It is not often that the chief justice and the 
prime minister are so strangely at variance in their 
opinions of men and things. 

I thank God, there is not in human nature a de- 
gree of impudence daring enough to deny the charge 
I have fixed upon you. Your courteous secretary ,1 
your confidential architect,! are silent as the grave. 

* And by the same means preserves it to this hour. 
t Tommy Bradshaw. 

f Mr. Taylor. He and George Ross (the Scotch agent and 
worthy coaiidant of lord JMansfield) managed the busine**. 



/UNIUS'S LETTERS. 195 

Even Mr. tligby's countenance fails hira, tie vio- 
ates his second nature, and blushes whenever he 
Bpeaks of you. Perhaps the noble colonel himself 
will relieve you. No man is more tender of his repu- 
tation. He is not only nice, but perfectly sore, in 
every thing that touches his honour. If any man, 
for example, were to accuse him of taking his stand 
at a gaming-table, and watching, with the soberest 
attention, for a fair opportunity of engaging a drunken 
young nobleman at piquet, he would, undoubtedly, 
consider it as an infamous aspersion upon his charac- 
ter, and resent it like a man of honour. Acquitting 
him, therefore, of drawing a regular and splendid 
subsistence from any unworthy practices, either in 
his own house, or elsewhere, let me ask your grace, 
for what military merits you have been pleased to re- 
ward him with military government ? He had a 
regiment of dragoons, which, one would imagine, was 
at least an equivalent for any services he ever per- 
formed. Besides, he is but a young officer, consider- 
ing his preferment; and, except in his activity at 
Preston, not very conspicuous in his profession. But 
it seems the sale of a civil employment was not suffi- 
cient ; and military governments, which were intended 
for the support of worn-out veterans, must be thrown 
into the scale, to defray the extensive bribery of a 
contested election. Are these the steps you take to 
iecure to your sovereign the attachment of his army ? 
With what countenance dare you appear in the royal 
presence, branded, as you are, with the infamy of a 
notorious breach of trust ? With what countenance 
can you take yonr seat at the treasury-board, or in 
the council, when you feel that every circulating 
whisper is at your ex[)ense alone, and slabs you to th» 



196 JTNIUS'S LETTERS. 

neart ? Have you a single friend in p-.irliament so 
shameless, so thoroughly abandoned, as to undertake 
your defence ? You know, my lord, that there is not 
a man in either house, whose character, however fla 
giiious, would not be ruined by mixing his reputation 
with yours ; and does not your heart inform you thai 
you are degraded below the condition of a man, when 
you are obliged to bear these insults with submission, 
and even to thank me for my moderation ? 

We are told, by the highest judicial authority, that 
Mr. Vaughan's* offer to purchase the reversion of a 



• A little before the publication of this and the preceding 
letter, the duke of Grafton had commenced a prosecution 
against Mr. Samuel Vaughan, for endeavouring to corrupt 
Ills integrity, by an offer of five thousand pounds for a pa- 
tent place in Jamaica. A rule to show cause why an infor- 
mation should not be exhibited against Vaughan for certain 
misdemeanors, being gi-anted by the court of king's bench, 
tlie matter was solemnly argued on the 27th of November, 
1769, and by the unanimous opinion of the four judges, the 
rule was made absolute. The pleadings and speeches were 
accurately taken in short-hand, and published. The whole 
of lord Mansfield's speech, and particularly the following 
extracts from it, deserve the reader's attention : " A prac- 
tice of the kind complained of here, is certainly dishonour- 
able and scandalous. If a man, standing under the relation 
of an officer under the king, or of a person in whom the 
king puts confidence, or of a minister, takes money for the 
use of that confidence the king puts in him, he basely be- 
trays the king ; he basely betrays his trust. If the king 
sold the office, it would be acting contrary to the trust the 
constitution had reposed in him. The constitution does 
not intend the crown should sell those offices to raise a re- 
venue out of them. Is it possible to hesitate, whether this 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

patent place in Jamaica (which he was otherwise suf- 
ficiently entitled to) amounts to a high misdemeanor. 
Be it so : and if he deserves it, let him be punished. 
But the learned judgt might have had a fairer oppor- 
tunity of displaying the powers of his eloquence. 
Having delivered himself, witii so much energy, upon 
tiie criminal nature and dangerous consequences o. 
any attenipt to corrupt a man in your grace's station, 
what would he have said to the minister himself, to 
that very privy counsellor, to that first commissioner 
of the treasury, who does not wait for, but impatiently 
solicits, the touch of corruption; who employs the 
meanest of his creatures in these honourable services; 
and, forgetting the genius and fidelity of his secretary, 
descends to apply to his house-builder for assistance? 
This affair, my lord, will do infinite credit to gov- 
ernment, if, to clear your character, you shoidd think 
proper to bring it into the house of lords, or into the 
court of king's bench. But, my lord, you dare not 
do either. JUNiUS. 

would not be criminal in the duke of Grafton ; Ci ntrary to 
his duty as a privy counsellor, contrary to his duty as a min- 
ister, contrary to his duty as a subject ? His adv ce should 
be free, according to his judgment. It is the di"v of his 
office ; he hath sworn to it." Notwitiistanding a. this, the 
duke of Grafton certainly sold a patent place to Mi. Hine, 
for three thousand five hundred pounds. If the h'^use of 
commons had done their duty, and impeached the d^'ke for 
ihis breach of trust, how wofully must poor honest Mans- 
field have been puzzled ' His embarrassment would !»ave 
afforded the most ridiculous scene that was ever exhibi*«:d. 
To save the judge from this perplexity, and the duke fr'^flo 
iir peachment, the prosecution against Vaughar was Imrr"*- 
diately dropped. 



198 'UNIUS'S LETTERS. 

XXXV. 

7*0 thi Printer of the Public Advertise* c 

SIR, December 19, 1769 

When the complaints of a brave and powerful 
people are observed to increase in proportion to the 
wrongs they have suffered ; when, instead of sinking 
into submission, they are roused to resistance, the 
time will soon arrive, at which every inferior con- 
sideration must yield to the security of the sovereign, 
and to the general safety of the state. There is a 
moment of difficulty and danger, at which flattery and 
falsehood can no longer deceive, and simplicity itself 
can no longer be misled. Let us suppose it arrived: 
let us suppose a gracious, well-intentioned prince made 
sensible, at last, of tiie great duty he owes to his peo- 
ple, and of his own disgraceful situation: that he looks 
round him for assistance, and asks for no advice, but 
how to gratify the wishes and secure the happiness of 
his subjects. Jn these circumstances, it may be mat- 
ter of curious speculation to consider, if an honest 
man were permitted to approach a king, in what terms 
he would address himself to his srvereign. Let it be 
imagined, no matter how improurtble, that the first 
prejudice against his character is removed ; that thj 
ceremonious difficulties of an audience are surmount- 
ed; that he feels himself animated by the purest and 
most honourable affections to his king and country ; 
and that the great person whom he addresses, has 
spirit enough to bid liiin speak freely, and under- 
Rtanding enough to listen to him with attention. L'n- 
Bcquainted with the vain imnortinence of forms, hte 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 199 

*»'x)uld deliver his senlimeiits with dignity and firm- 
ness, but not without respect. 

Sir, — It is the misfortune of your life, and origi- 
uully the cause of every reproach and distress wiiich 
has attended your government, tlint you should never 
have been acquainted with the language of truth, un- 
til you heard it in the complaints of your people. It 
is not, however, too late to correct the error of your 
education. We are still inclined to make an indul- 
gent allowance for the pernicious lessons you received 
in your youth, and to form the most sanguine hopes 
from the natural benevolence of your dispositi(»n.* 

* The plan of the tutelage and future dominion over the 
heir apparent, laid many years ago, at Carlton-House, be- 
tween the jM-incess dowager and lier favourite, the earl of 
Bute, wa> as gross and palpable as that wiiich was concerted 
between Anne of Austria and cardinal Mazarine, to goverr 
Louis the Fourteenth, and, in effect, to prolong his minor! 
ty until the end of their lives. That prince had stron*,' 
natural p .rts, and used frequently to blush for his own ig- 
norance aiid want of education, which had been wilfully 
neglected by his mother and her minion. A little experi- 
ence, how ever, soon showed him how shamefully he had been 
treated, aud for what infamous purposes he had been kept 
in ignorance. Our great Edward, too, at an early period, 
had sense enough to understand the nature of the connex 
ion between his abandoned mother and the detesttd Mor 
timer. But, since that time, human nature, we may ob- 
serve, is greatly altered for the better. Dowagers may be 
chaste, and minions may be honest. When it was [ roposed 
to settle the present king's household, as prince of Wahs, 
it is well known that the earl of Bute was forced into it, in 
direct contradiction to the late king's inclination. That was 
.he salient 4)oint from which all the mischiefs and discTices 



200 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

We are far from thinking you capable of a direct, de- 
liberate purpose to invade those original rights o« 
vour subjects, on which all their civil and political 
liberties depend. Had it been possible for us to en- 
tertain a suspicion so dishonourable to your charac- 
ter, we should long since have adopted a style of re- 
monstrance very distant from the humility of com- 
plaint. The doctrine inculcated by our laws, That 
the king can do no wrong, is admitted without reluc- 
tance. We separate the amiable, good-natured prince 
from the folly and treachery of his servants, and the 
private virtues of the man from the vices of his 
government. Were it not for this just distinction, I 
know not whether your majesty's condition, or thai 
of the English nation, would deserve most to be la- 
mented. I would prepare your mind for a favoura- 
ble reception of truth, by removing every painful, 
olfcnsive idea of personal reproach. Your subjects, 
sir, wish for nothing, but that, as they are reasonable 
and aflectionale enough to separate your person from 
your government, so you, in your turn, should distin- 
guish between the conduct which becomes the perma- 
nent dignity of a king, and that which serves only to 
promote the tem.porary interest and miserable ambi- 
tion of a minister. 

You ascended the throne with a declared, and, I 
doubt not, a sincere resolution of giving universal 
satisfaction to your subjects. You found them pleased 
»vith the novelty of a young prince, whose countenance 
promised even more than his words; and loyal to you, 

o{ the present reign took life and motion. From that mo- 
ment, loid Bute never sufiered the prince of Wales to be aa 
mstant o it of his sight. We nerd not look farther. 



JUNIUS'S LETTEtlS 201 

not onl}' from principle, but passion. It was not a 
cold profession of allegiance to the first magistrate^ 
but a partial, animated attachment to a favourite 
prince, the native of their country. They did not 
wait to examine your conduct, nor to be determined 
by experience, but gave you a generous credit for 
the future blessings of your reign, and paid you in 
advance the dearest tribute of their affections. Such, 
sir, was once the disposition of a people, who now 
surround your throne with reproaches and complaints. 
Do justice to yourself. Banish from your mind those 
unworthy opinions, with which some interested per- 
•;ons have laboured to possess you. Distrust the men 
who tell you that the English are naturally light and 
inconstant; that they complain without a cause 
Withdraw your confidence equally from all parties ; 
from ministers, favourites, and relations ; and let there 
be one moment ni your life, in which you have con- 
sulted yt)iir own understanding. 

When you affectedly renounced the name of En- 
glisihman, believe me, sir, you were persuaded to pay 
a wry ill-judged compliment to one part of your sub- 
jects, at the expense of another. While the natives 
of Scotland are not in actual rebellion, they are un- 
doubtedly entitled to protection : nor do I mean to 
condemn the policy of giving some encouragement to 
the novelty of their affections for the house of Hano- 
ver. 1 am ready to hope for every thing from their 
new-born zeal, and from the future steadiness of their 
allegiance; but, hitherto, they have no claim to your 
favour. To honour them with a determined predi- 
lection and confidence, in exclusion of your English 
subjects, who placed your family, and, in spite of 

treachery and rebellion, have suppo -ted it upon the 
I '2 



202 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

throne, is a mistake too gross even for the unsuspect- 
ing generosity of youth. In this error we see a capi- 
tal \iohition of the most obvious rules of policy and 
prudeme. We trace it, however, to an original bias 
in your education, anc are ready to allow for your 
inexper'ewce. 

To the same early influence we attribute it, that 
you have descended to take a share, not only in the 
narrow views and interests of particular persons, but 
in the fatal malignity of their passions. At your ac- 
cession to the throne, the whole system of government 
was altered, not from wisdom or deliberation, but 
because it had been adopted by your predecessor. A, 
little personal motive of pique and resentment was 
suflicient to remove the ablest servants of the crown;* 
but it is not in this country, sir, that such men can 
be disli >noured by the frowns of a king. They were 
dismis&od, but could not be disgraced. Without en- 
tering into a minuter discussion of the merits of the 
peace, we may observe, in the imprudent hurry vvitl) 
which the first overtures from France were accepted, 
in the conduct of the negotiation, and terms of the 
treaty, the strongest marks of that precipitate spirit 
of concession, with which a certain part of your sub- 
jects have been at all times ready to purchase a peace 
with the natural enemies of this country. On your 
part wc are satisfied that every thing was honourable 
and sincere J and, if England was sold to France, we 

* One of the fust acts of the present reign was to dismiss 
Mr. Legge, because he had, some years before, refused to 
yield his interest in Hampshire to a Scotchman, recona 
mended by lord BuA,». This was the reason oubUcly assignee 
by his lordship. 



JUNlbri'S LETTERS. 20^ 

doubt not that your majesty was equally betrayed 
The conditions of the peace were matter of grief and 
surprise to your subjects, but not the immediate cause 
of their present discontent. 

Hitherto, sir, you had been sacrificed to the preju- 
dices and passions ol others. With what firmness 
will you bear the mention of your own ? 

A man not very honourably distinguished in the 
world, commences a formal attack upon your favour- 
ite, considering nothing but how he might best expose 
his person and principles to detestation, and the na- 
tional character of his countrymen to contempt. The 
natives of that country, sir, are as much distinguished 
by a peculiar character, as b}' 3'our majesty's favour. 
Like another chosen people, they have been conduct- 
ed into the land of plenty, where they find themselves 
effectually marked, and divided from mankind. There 
is hardly a period at which the most irregular charac- 
ter may not be redeemed. The mistakes of one sex 
find a retreat in patriotism, those of the other in de- 
votion. Mr. Wilkes brought with him into politics 
\he same liberal sentiments by which his private con- 
duct had been directed ; and seemed to think, that 
as there are few excesses in which an English gentle 
man may not be permitted to indulge, the same lati- 
tude was allowed him in the choice of his political 
principles, and in the spirit of maintaining them. I 
Q ean to state, not entirely to defend, his conduct. In 
the earnestness of his zeal, he suffered some unwar- 
rantable insinuations to escape him. He said more 
than moderate men could justify; but not enough to 
entitle him to the honour of your majesty's personal 
resentment. The rays of royal indignation, collected 
vpon him, served only to illuminate, and could not 



204 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

consume. Animated by tlie favour of the f,eople on 
the one side, and heated by persecution on the other, 
his views and sentiments changed with his situation 
Hardly serious at first, he is now an enthusiast. The 
c,oldest bodies warm with opposition, the hardest 
sparkle in collision. There is a holy mistaken zeal 
'n politics as well as religion. By persuading others, 
we convince ourselves. The passions are engaged, 
and create a maternal aiTection in the mind, which 
forces us to love the cause for which we suffer. Is this 
a contention worthy of a king ? Are you not sensible 
how much the meanness of the cause gives an air of 
ridicule to the serious difficulties into which you have 
oeen betrayed ? The destruction of one man has 
»)een now, for many years, the sole object of youi 
government; and, if there can be any thing still more 
disgraceful, we have seen for such an object the ut- 
most influeritc of the executive power, and every 
ministerial artifice, exerted without success. Nor can 
you ever succeed, unless he should be imprudent 
enough to forfeit the protection of those laws to which 
you owe your crown ; or unless your minister should 
persuade you to make it a question of force alone, and 
try the whole strength of government in opposition to 
the people. The lessons he has received from expe- 
rience will probably guard him from such excess oi 
folly ; and, in your majesty's virtues, we find an un- 
questionable assurance, that no illegal violence will 
be attempted. 

Far from suspecting you of so lorrible a design, 
we would attribute the continued violation of the 
laws, and even this last enormous attack upon the vi- 
tal principles of the coiiilituiion. to an ill-advised, un- 
worthy, personal resentment From one false step 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 205 

you have been betrayed into another ; and, as the 
cause was unworthy of you, your ministers were deter- 
mined that the prudence of the execution should cor- 
respond with the wisdom and dignity of the design. 
They have reduced you to the necessity of choosing 
out of a variety of difliculties; to a situation so unhap- 
py, that you can neither do wrong without ruin, or 
right without affliction. These worthy servants have 
undoubtedly given you many singular proofs of their 
abilities. Not contented with making Mr. Willces a 
man of importance, tliey hav* judiciously transferred 
the question from the rights and interests of one man, 
to the most important rights and interests of the peo- 
ple ; and forced your subjects, from wishing well to 
the cause of an individual, to unite with him in their 
own. Let them proceed as they have begun, and 
your majesty need not doubt that the catastrophe wilf 
do no dishonour to the conduct of the piece. 

The circumstances to which you are reduced wil< 
not admit of a compromise with the English nation. 
Undecisive, qualifying measures will disgrace your 
government still more than open violence; and, with- 
out satisfying the people, will excite their contempt 
They have too much understanding and spirit to ac- 
cept of an indirect satisfaction for a direct injury. 
Nothing less than a repeal, as formal as the resolution 
itself, can heal the wound which has been given to the 
constitution, nor will any thing less be accepted. I 
can readily believe, that there is an influence sufficient 
to recall that pernicious vote. The house of commons 
undoubtedly consider their duty to the crown as para- 
mount to all other obligations. To us they are only 
nidebted for an arrideutal existence, and have justly 



206 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ransferred their gratitude from their parents to their 
benefactors; from those who gave them birth, to the 
minister, from whose benevolence they derive the 
comforts and pleasures of their political life ; who has 
taken the tenderest care of their infancy, and relieves 

heir necessities without offending their delicacy. 
But, if it were possible for their integrity to te degra- 
ded to a condition so vile and abject, that, compared 
with it, the present estimation they stand in is a state 
of honour and respect ; consider, sir, in what manner 
3'ou will afterwards proPeed. Can you conceive that 
the people of this country will long submit to be gov- 
erned by so flexible a house of commons ? It is not 
in the nature of human society that any form of gov- 
ernment, in such circumstances, can long be preserv- 
ed. In ours, the general contempt of the people is as 
fatal as their detestation. Such, I am persuaded, 
would be the necessary effect of any base concession 
made by the present house of commons; and, as a 
iiualifying measure would not be accepted, it remains 
for you to decide, whether you will, at any hazard, 
support a set of men who have reduced you to this 
unhappy dilemma, or whether you will gratify the 
united wishes of the whole people of England, by dis- 
solving the parliament. 

Taking it for granted, as 1 do very sincerely, that 
you have j)ersonally no design against the constitu- 
tion, nor any view inconsistent with the good of 
your subjects, 1 think you cannot hesitate long upon 
the choice which it equally concerns your interests 
and your honour to adopt. On one side, you hazard 
the affection of all your English subjects; you relin- 
quish every hope of repose to yowrself, and you endan- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 20-? 

ger the establishment of your family for ever. All thi« 
you venture for no object whatsoever; or for such aa 
object as it would be an affront to you to name. Mer 
of sense will examine your conduct with suspicion , 
while those, who are incapable of comprehending to 
what degree they are injured, afflict you witli cla- 
mours equally insolent and unmeaning. Supposing 
it possible that no fatal struggle should ensue, you 
determine, at once, to be unhappy, without the hope 
of a compensation, either from interest or ambition. 
If an English king be hated or despised, he must be 
unhappy : and this, perhaps, is the only political truth 
which he ought to be convinced of, without experi- 
ment. But, if the English people should no longer 
confine their resentment to a submissive representation 
of their wrongs ; if, following the glorious example of 
their ancestors, they should no longer appeal to the 
creature of the constitution, but to that high Beiisg 
who gave them the rights of humanity, whose gifts it 
were sacrilege to surrender, let me ask you, sir, upon 
what part ofyour subjects would you rely for assistance.'' 
The people of Ireland have been uniformly plun- 
dered and oppressed. In return, they give you every 
day fresh marks of their resentment. They despise 
the miserable governor* you have st- ut them, because 
he is the creature of lord Bute : nor is it from any 
natural confusion in their ideas, that they are so ready 
to confound the original of a king with the disgrace* 
ful representation of him. 

• Viscount Townshend, sent over on the plan of being re 
sulent governor. Tlie history of his ridiculous administra 
tiou shall not be lost to the public. 



208 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

The distance of the co onies would make it iinpos 
sible for them to take an active concern in your affairs, 
if they were as well affected to your government as 
they once pretended to be to 3'our person. They were 
ready enough to distinguisli beiween you and your 
ministers. They complained of an act of the legisla- 
ture, but traced the origin of it no higher than to the 
servants of the crown : they pleased themselves with 
the hope that their sovereign, if not favourable to their 
cause, at least was impartial. The decisive personal 
part you took against them has effectually banished 
that first distinction from their minds.* They consider 
you as united with your servants against America ; 
and know how to distinguish the sovereign and a ve- 
nal parliament on one side, from the real sentiments 
of the English people on the other. Looking forward 
to independence, they might possibly receive you for 
their king: but, if ever you retire to America, be as- 
sured they will give you such a covenant to digest as 
tlie presbytery of Scotland would have been ashamed 
to offer to Charles the Second. They left their na- 
tive land in search of freedom, and found it in a 
desert. Divided as they are into a thousand forms 



• In the king's speech of November 8th, 1768, it was de- 
clared, " That the spirit of faction had broken out afrcsli in 
some of the colonies, and, in one of them, proceeded to acis 
of violence and resistance to the execution of the laws ; 
'.hat Boston was in a state of disobe(flence to all laws and 
government, and had proceeded to measures subversive of 
the constitution, and attended with circumstances that mani- 
fested a disposition to ihrow off their dependence on Great 
Britain." 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 209 

of policy and religion, there -s one point in which the^ 
all agree : they equally detest the pageantry of a king, 
and the supercilious hypocrisy of a bishop. 

It is not, then, from the alienated affections ol 
Ireland or America that you can reasonably look for 
assistance; still less from the people of England, who 
are actually contending for their rights, and in this 
great question are parties against you. You are not. 
however, destitute of every appearance of support ; 
you have all the Jacobites, Non-jurors, Roman 
Catholics, and Tories of this country, and all Scot- 
land, without exception. Considering from what 
family you are descended, the choice of your fi'ienda 
has been singularly directed; and truly, sir, if you had 
not lost the Whig interest of England, 1 should admire 
your dexterity in turning the hearts of your enemies. 
Is it possible for you to place any confidence in men, 
who, before they are faithful to you, must renounce 
every opinion, and betray every principle, both in 
church and state, which they inherit from their ances- 
tors, and are confirmed in by their education .'' whose 
numbers are so inconsiderable, tiiat they have long 
since been obliged to give up the principles and lan- 
guage which distinguish them as a party, and to fight 
under the banners of their enemies ? Their zeal be- 
gins with hypocrisy, and must conclude in treachery. 
At first they deceive — at last they betray. 

As to the Scotch, I must suppose your heart and 
understanding so biassed, from your earliest infancy 
in their favour, that nothing less than your own mis- 
fortunes can undeceive you. You will not accept ol 
the uniform experience of your ancestors ; and, when 
once a man is detenn ued to believe, the very absui- 

14 



210 JUNius^s letti:rs. 

ility of the doctrine confirms him \n his faith. A big 
otted understanding can draw a proof of attachmen' 
to the house of Hanover, from a notorious ztal for the 
house of Stuart, and find an earnest of fvUure loyalty 
in former rebellions. Appearances are, however, in 
their favour : so strougly, indeed- that one would 
think they had forgotten that 3'ou are their lawful 
king, and had mistaken you for a pretender to the 
crown. Let it be admitted, then, that the Scotch ar^^ 
as sincere in their present professions, as if you were, 
in reality, not an Englishman, but a Briton of the 
North. You would not be the first prince, of their 
native country, against whom they have rebelled, nor 
the first whom they have basely betrayed. Have you 
forgotten, sir, or has your favourite concealed from 
you, that part of our histor}'^, when the unhappy 
Charles (and he, loo, had private virtues) fled from 
the open, avowed indignation of his English subjects, 
and surrended himself at discretion to the good faiih 
of his own countrymen .'* Without looking for sup- 
port in their afiections as subjects, he applied only to 
their honour, as gentlemen, for protection. They 
received him, as they woidd your majesty, with bows, 
and smiles, and falsehood; and kept him, until they 
had settled their bargain with the English parliament; 
then basely sold their native king to the vengeance 
of his enemies. This, sir, was not the act of a few 
traitors, but the deliberate treachery of a Scotch par- 
liament, representing the nation. A wise prince mighf 
draw from it two lessons of equal utility to himself. 
On one side, he might learn to dread the undisguised 
resentment of a generous people, who dare openly 
•issert their rights, and who, in a just ciuse, are ready 



JL_\IUS'S LETTERS. 211 

to meet their sovereign in the field. On the other 
side, lie would be taught to apprehend something far 
more formidable; a fawning treachery, against which 
no prudence can guard, no courage can defend. The 
insidious smile upon the cheek would warn him of the 
canker in the heart. 

From the uses to which one part of the army has 
been too frequently applied, you have some reason to 
expect that there are no services they would refuse. 
Here, too, we trace the partiality of your understand- 
ing. You take the sense of the army from the con- 
duct of the guards, with the same justice with which 
you collect the sense of the people from the represen- 
tations of the ministry. Your marching regiments, 
sir, will not make the guards their example, either 
as soldiers or subjects. They feel, and resent, as they 
ought to do, that invariable, undistinguishing favour 
with which the guards are treated ;* while those gal- 
lant troops, by whom every hazardous, every labori- 
ous service is performed, are left to perish in garri- 
sons abroad, or pine in quarters at liome, neglected 
and forgotten. If they had no sense of the great 

* The number of commissioned officers in the guards are 
to the marching regiments as one to eleven: the number o< 
regiments given to the guards, compared with those given to 
the line, is about three to one, at a moderate computation ; 
consequently, the partiality in favour of the guards is as 
thirty-three to one. So much for the officers. The private 
men have four -pence a-day to subsist on, and five hundred 
lashes if they desert. Under this punishment they fret 
quently expire. With these encouragements, it is supposed, 
they may be depended upon, whenever a certain person 
'Jhhiks it Mcci'ssarv to butcher his fellow-subjects. 



212 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

original duty they owe their country, their reseutmen 
would operate like patriotism, and .eave your cause 
tO be defended by those on whom you have lavished 
the rewards and honours of their profession. Ths 
preetorian bands, enervated and debauched as they 
were, had still strength enough to awe the Roman 
populace; but when the distant legions took the alarm, 
they marched to Rome, and gave away the empire. 

On this side, then, which ever way you turn your 
eyes, you see nothing but perplexity and distress. You 
may detennint to support the very ministry who have 
reduced your affairs to this deplorable situation; you 
may shelter yourself under the forms of a parliament, 
and set your people at defiance ; but be assured, sir, 
that such a resolution would be as imprudent as it 
would be odious. If it did not immediately shake 
your establishment, it would rob you of your peace of 
mind for ever. 

On the other, how different is the prospect ! How 
easy, how safe and honourable, is the path before you! 
The English nation declare they are grossly injured 
by their representatives, and solicit your majesty to 
extrt your lawful prerogative, and give them an op- 
poiiunity of recalling a trust, which they find has been 
scandalously abused. Yon are not to be told, that 
the power of the house of commons is not original, 
but delegated to them for the welfare of the people, 
from whom they received it. A question of right 
arises between the constituent and the representative 
body. By what authority shall it be decided.'* Will 
your majesty interfere in a question in which you have, 
properly, no immediate concern ? It would be a step 
equa ly odious and unnecessary. Sliall the lords b« 



JUNIUS S LETTERS. 213 

called upon to determim- the rights and privileges ol 
the commons ? They cannot do it, without a flagrant 
breach of the constitution. Or, will you refer it to the 
judges .'' They have often told your ancestors, that 
the law of parliament is above them. What part then 
remains, but to leave it to the people to determine for 
themselves ? They alone are injured; and, since 
ijiere is no superior power to which the cause can be 
referred, they alone ought to determine. 

I do not mean to perplex you with a tedious argu- 
ment upon a subject, already so discussed, that inspira- 
tion could hardly throw a new light upon it. Thr re 
are, however, two points of view in which it particu- 
larly imports your majesty to consider the late pro- 
ceedings of the house of commons. By depriving a 
subject of his birth-right, they have atti 'bated to their 
own vote an authority equal to an act of the whole 
legislature ; and though, perhaps, not with the same 
motives, have strictly followed the example of the long 
parliament, which first declared the regal office use- 
less, and soon after, with as little ceremony, dissolved 
the house of lords. Tlie samt oretended power which 
robs an English subject of his birth-right, may rob an 
English king of his crown. In another view, the 
resolution of the house of commons, apparently not 
so dangerous to your majesty, is siill more alarming 
to your people. Not contented with divesting one 
man of his right, they have arbitrarily conveyed that 
right to another. They have set aside a return as 
dlegal, without daring to censure those officers who 
were particularly apprised of Mr. Wilkes's incapacity, 
not only by the declaration of the house, but expressly 
by the writ directed to them, and who, nevertheless, 



214 .UNIUS'S LETTERS. 

returned him as duly elected. They have rejected tht 
majority of votes, the only criterion by which our laws 
judge of the sense of the people ; they have transfer- 
red the right of election from the collective to the 
representative body ; and by these acts, taken sepa- 
rately or together, they have essentially altered ihe 
original constitution of the house of commons. Ver 
sed, as your majesty undoubtedly is, in the Englisji 
history, it cannot easily escape you, how much it is 
your interest, as well as your duty, to prevent one ol 
the three estates from encroaching upon the province 
of the other two, or assuming the authority of them 
all. When once they have departed from the great 
constitutional line by which all their proceedings 
should be directed, who will answer for their future 
moderation .'' Or what assurance will they give you, 
that, when they have trampled upon their equals, they 
will submit to a superior f Your majesty may learn 
hereafter how nearly the slave and tyrant are allied. 

Some of your council, more candid than the rest, 
admit the abandoned profligacy of the present house of 
commons, but oppose their dissolution, upon an opin- 
ion, I confess, not very unwarrantable, that their 
successors would be equally at the disposal of the 
treasury. I cannot persuade myself that the nation 
will have profited so little by experience. But, if that 
opinion were well founded, you might then gratify 
our wishes at an easy rate, and appease the present 
clamour against your government, without offering 
any material injury to the favourite cause of corruption. 

You have still an honourable part to act. The af 
fections of your subjects jnay still be recovered. But, 
before you subdue tiieir hearts, you must gain a noble 



jrUNlUS'S LETTERS. 21S 

victory over your own. Discard those little, personai 
resentments, which have too long directed your pub- 
lic conduct. Pardon tliis man the remainder of his 
puuisiiment ; and, if resentment still prevails, make 
it, what it should have been long since, an act, not of 
mercy, but of contempt. He will soon fall back into 
his natural station ; a silent senator, and hardly sup- 
porting the weekly eloquence of a newspaper. The 
gentle breath of peace would leave him on the surface, 
neglected and unremoved. It is only the tempest 
that lifts him from bis place. 

Without consulting your minister, call together 
your whole council. Let it appear to the public thai 
you can determine and act for yourself. Come for- 
ward to your people. Lay aside the wretched for- 
malities of a king, and speak to your subjects witli 
the spirit of a man, and in the language of a gentle- 
man. Tell them you have been fatally deceived. 
The acknowledgment will be no disgrace, but rather 
an honour, to yonv understanding. Tell tbem you 
are determined to remove every cause of complaint 
against your government; iliat you will give your 
confidence to no man who does not possess the confi- 
dence of your subjects ; and leave it to themselves to 
determine, by their conduct at a future election, 
'vhether or no it be, in reality, the general sense ol 
the nation, that their rights have been arbitrarily in- 
vaded by the present house of commons, and the con- 
stitution betrayed. They \viil then do justice to their 
representatives and to themselves. 

These sentiments, sir, and the style they are con- 
veyed in, may be offensive, perlwps, because they are 
ncH to you. Accustomed to the anguage of courtiera. 



216 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

you meas'ire their affections by the vehemence tM 
their expressions ; and when they only praise you 
indifferently, you admire their sincerity. But this is 
not a time to trifle with your fortune. They deceive 
you, sir, who tell you that you have many friends, 
whose affections are founded upon a principle of per- 
sonal attachment. The first foundation of friendship 
is not the power of conferring benefits, but the equal- 
ity with which they are received, and may be return- 
ed. The fortune which made you a king, forbade 
you to have a friend. It is a law of nature, which 
cannot be violated with impunity. The mistaken 
prince, who looks for friendship, will find a favourite, 
and in that favourite the ruin of his affairs. 

The people of England are loyal to the house of 
Hanover ; not from a vain preference of one family to 
another, but from a conviction, that the establishment 
of that family was necessary to the support of their 
civil and religious liberties. This, sir, is a principle 
of allegiance equally solid and rational; fit for Eng- 
lishmen to adopt, and well worthy of your majesty's 
encouragement. We cannot long be deluded by 
nominal distinctions. The name of Stuart, of itself, 
is only contemptible ; armed with the sovereign au- 
thority, their principles are formidable. The prince 
ho imitates their conduct, should be warned by their 
example ; and, while he plumes himself upon the secu- 
rity of his title to the crown, should remember, tnat, 
as it was acquired by one revolution, it may be los' 
by another. 

JUNIUS 

THE KND OF VOLUME • 



WOODFALL'S JUNIUS. 



THE 



LETTERS OF JUNIUS 



FROM 



THE LATEST LONDON EDITION, 



STAT NOMINns UMBRA. 



TWO VOLS. IN ON P. 



NEW YORK: 
JOHN W. LOVELL, PUBLISHER, 

NOS. 14 AND 16 ASTOR PLACE. 
1880. 



CONTENTS. 



l^etter Page, 

\XXV1. To the duke of Grafton - - 5 

XXXVII. To the Printer of the Public A d\ertiser - l6 

X XXVIII. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 22 

XXXIX. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 30 

XL. To Lord North 43 

XLI. To Lord Mansfield - - - - 46 

XLII. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 60 

XLFII. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 70 

XLIV. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 73 

XLV. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 86 

XLVL To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 87 

XLVH. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 89 

XLVIII. To the duke of Grafton - - 93 

XLIX. To the duke of Grafton ... 98 

L. The Rev. Mr. Home to Junius - - 103 

LI. To the Rev. JMr. Home - - - IO6 

LH. The Rev. Mr. Home to Junius - -109 

LIII. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 124 

LIV. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 135 

LV. The Rev. Mr. Home to Junius - - 137 

LVI. To the duke of Grafton - - - 139 

LVII. Addressed to the Livery of London - 146 

LVIII. To-the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 148 

LIX. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser - 159 

LX. ToZeno ----- . i62 

LX I. To an Advocate in the Cause of the People 1 68 

LXH. . . - - . 170 

LXHL .-..-- 172 

LXIV To Lord Mansfield - - - 176 

LXV. To the Printer of the Public Advertiser 17" 

LXVI. To the duke of Grafton - - ihid. 

LXVII. To Lord Mansfield - - . 182 

LXVIII. To Lord Camden - 209 



LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 



LETTER XXXVI. 

To his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, V February 14, 1770. 

ir" I were personally your enemy, I might pity ami 
fori(ive you. You have every claim to compassion 
that can arise from misery and distress. The condi- 
tion you are reduced to would disarm a private ene- 
my of his resentment, and leave no consolation to 
the most vindictive spirit, but that such an object as 
yon are would disgrace the dignity of revenge. But, 
in the relation you have borne to this country, j-ou 
have no title to indulgence ; and if I had followed 
the dictates of my own opinion, I never should have 
allowed you the respite of a moment. In your pub- 
lic character, you have injured every subject of the 
empire ; and though an individual is not authorised 
to forgive the injuries done to society, he is called 
upon to assert his separate share in the public resent- 
ment. I submitted, however, to the judgment oi 



6 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

men, more moderate, perhaps more caiulid, than 
myself. For my own part, I do not pretend to un- 
dei stand those prudent forms of decorum, those gentle 
rules of discretion, vvliich some men endeavour to 
unite with the conduct of the greatest and most 
hazardous affairs. Engaged in the defence of an 
honourable cause, I would take a decisive pnrt. 1 
should scorn to pr^^vide for a future retreat, or to 
keep terms with a man who preserves no measures 
with the public. Neither the abject submission of 
deserting his post in the hour of danger, nor even 
the sacred* shield of cowardice should protect him. 
I would pursue him through life, and try the last ex- 
ertion of my abilities to preserve the perishable imfa- 
ni}^ of his name, and make it immortal. 

What then, my lord ? Is this the event of all the 
sacrifices you have made to lord Bute's patronage, 
and to your own unfortunate ambition ? Was it for 
this you abandoned your earliest friendships, the 
warmest connexions of your youth, and all those 
honourable engagements by which you once soli- 
cited, and might have acquired, the esteem of your 
country ? Have you secured no recompense for such 
a waste of honour ? Unhappy man ! what party 
will receive the common deserter of all parties •* 
Without a client to (latter, without a friend to con- 
sole you, and with only one companion from the 
honest house of Bloomsbury, you nmst now retire 
uto a dreadful solitude. At the most active period 
of life you must quit the busy scene, and conceal 

• Sacro tremuere timore. Every coward pretends 

to be planet-struck. 



JUNIUS S LETTLRS. 1 

yoiirseir from the world, if you would hope to save 
the wretched remains of a ruined reputation. The 
vices operate like age, bring on disease before its 
lime, and in the ])rime of youth leave the character 
broken and exhausted. 

Yet your conduct has been mysterious, as well as 
( oiitemptible. Where is now that firmness, or ob- 
sdiiacy, so long boasted of by your friends, and ac- 
knowledged by your enemies ? We were taught to 
expect that you would not leave the ruin of this 
country to be completed by other hands, but were 
determined either to gain a decisive victory over 
the constitution, or to perish bravely, at least, 
behind the last dike of the prerogative. You knev** 
the danger, and might have been provided for it. 
You took sufficient time to prepare for a meeting 
with your parliament, to confirm the mercenary 
fidelity of your dependents, and to suggest to your 
sovereign a language suited to his dignity at least, 
if not to his benevolence and wisdom. Yet, while 
the whole kingdom was agitated with anxious ex- 
pectntion upon one great point, you meanly evaded 
the question, and, instead of the explicit firmness 
and decision of a king, gave us nothing but the 
misery of a ruined* grazier, and the whining pioty 
of a methodist. We had reason to expect, that no 
tice would have been taken of the petitions whicl 
the king had received from the English nation , 
and although I can conceive some personal motives 
for not yielding to them, 1 can find none, in common 

* There was sometnuig wonderfully pathetic iu the men 
lion of the horned cattle. 



8 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

prudence or decency, for treating them with con- 
tempt. Be assured, my lord, the English people 
will not tan>ely submit to this unworthy treatment 
They had a right to be heard j and their petitions. 
if not granted, deserved tv. be considered. What- 
ever be the real views and doctrines of a court, the 
sovereign should be taught to preserve some forms 
of attention to his subjects ; and, if he will not re- 
dress their grievances, not to make them a topic of 
jest and mockery among lords and ladies of the bed- 
chamber. Injuries may be atoned for and forgiven ; 
but insults admit of no compensation. They de- 
grade the mind in its own esteem, and force it to 
recover its level by revenge. This neglect of the 
petitions was, however, a part of your original plan 
of government ; nor will any consequences it has 
produced account for your deserting your sove- 
reign, in the midst of that distress, in which you and 
your* new friends have involved him. One would 
tliiiik, my lord, you might have taken this spirited 
resolution before you had dissolved the last of those 
early connexions, which once, even in your own 
oj)inion, did honour to your youth ; before you had 
obliged lord Granby to quit a service he was at- 
tached to ; before you had discarded one chancellor, 
and killed another. To what an abject condition 
have you laboured to reduce the best of princes, 
when the unhappy man, who yields at last to such 
personal instance and solicitation, as never can be 
fairly employed against a subject, feels himself de- 
graded by his compliance, and is unable to survive 

• The Bedford paity. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 9 

the disgraceful honours which his gracious sovereign 
had compelled him to accept! He was a man of 
spirit, for he had a quick sense of shame, and death 
has redeemed his character. I know your grace too 
well to appeal to your feelings upon this event ; hut 
there is another heart, not yet, I hojx', (juilt 
callous to the touch of humanity, to which it ough< 
to be a dreadful lesson for ever.* 

Now, my lord, let us consider the situation to 
.vhich you have conducted, and in which you have 
thought it advisable to abandon, your royal mas- 
ter. Wlienever the people have complained, and 
nothing better could be said in defence of the mea- 
sures of the government, it has been the fashion to 
answer us, though not very fairly, with an appeal 
to the private virtues of your sovereign ; " Has he 
not, to relieve the people, surrendered a consider- 
able part of his revenue ? Has he not made the 
judges independent, by fixing them in their places 
for life .'"' My lord, we acknowledge the gracious 
principle wliicli gave birth to these concessions, 
and have nothing to regret, but tliat it has never 
been adhered to. At the end of seven years, we 
are loaded with a debt of above five hundred thou- 
sand pounds upon the civil list ; and now we see 
the chancellor of Great Britain tyrannically forced 
out of his office, not for want of abilities, not for 
want of integrity, or of attention to his duty, but 
for delivering his honest opinion in parliament, 

* Tlie most secret particular of this detestable traiisri'- 
tion shall in due lime be given to the public. The peopU 
shall know what kind of man tlicy have to deal with. 
A 2 



to JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

upon the greatest constitutional question that has 
arisen since the re^ ohition. We care not to whose 
private virtues you appeal. The theory of such u 
government is falsehood and mockery ; the practice 
is oppression. You have laboured then (though, 
[ confess, to no purpose) to rob your master of the 
only plausible answer that ever was given in de- 
fence of his government — of the opinion which the 
people had conceiveil of ins personal honour and 
integrity. The duke o Bedford was more mode- 
rate than your grace ; Lr only forced his master to 
violate a solemn promise made to an individual;* 
but you, my lord, have successively extended your 
advice to every political, every moral engagement, 
that could bind either the magistrate or the man. 
The condition of a king is often miserable ; but it 
required your grace's abilities to make it contempt- 
ible. You will say, perhaps, that the faithful ser- 
vants, in whose hands you have left him, are able 
to retrieve his honour, and to support his govern- 
ment. You have publicly declared, even since your 
resignation, that you approved of their measures, 
and admired their conduct, particularly that of the 
curl of Sandwich. What a pity it is, that, with all 
tliis appearance, you should think it necessary to 
separate yourself from such amiable companions ! 
You forget, my lord, that, while 3'ou are lavish in 
the praise of men whom you desert, you are pub- 
licly opposing your conduct to your opinions, and 
depriving yourself of the only plausible pretence 
you had for leaving your sovereign overwhelmed 

* Mr. Stuart M'Kenzie. 



JUNIUS'S LKTTLLKS. 11 

ivith distress. 1 call it plausible ; for, in truth, 
thert is no reason whatsoever, less than the frowns 
of your master, that could justify a man of spirit 
for abandoning his post at a moment so critical and 
important. It is in vain to evade the question : if 
you will not speak out, the public have a right to 
judge from appearances. We are authorised to 
conclude, that you either differed from your col- 
leagues, whose measures you still affect to defend, 
or that you thought the administration of the king's 
affairs no longer tenable. You are at liberty (o 
choose between the hypocrite and the coward. 
Your best friends are io doubt which way they shall 
incline. Your country unites the characters, and 
gives you credit for them both. For my own part, 
I see nothing inconsistent in your conduct. You be- 
gan with betraying the people ; you conclude wiih 
betraying the king. 

In your treatment of particular persons, you have 
preserved the uniformity of your character. Evei/ 
IMr. Bradshaw declares, tliat no man was ever so ill 
used as himself. As to the provision* you have 



* A pension of \ ^)00l. j^er annum, insured upon the four 
one half per cents, (he was too cunning to trust to Irisk. 
security) for the lives of b'ns^lf and his sons. This gentle- 
man, who, a very few years ago. was clerk to a contractor for 
forage, and, afterwards exalted to a petty post in the war 
office, thought it necessary (as soon as he was appointed 
secretary to the treasury) to take that great house in Lin- 
coln's-lnn-fields, in which the earl of Northinglon had re- 
sided, while he was lord high chancellor of Great Britain. 
;\s 1.0 the pension, lord North very solemnly assured (he 



12 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

made for his family, he was entitled to il by the 
house he lives in. The successor of one chancel- 
lor might well pretend to be the rival of another 
It is the breach of piivate friendship which touches 
Mt Bradshaw ; and, to say the truth, when a mj.n 
of his rank and abilities had taken so active a part 
in your affairs, he ought not to have been let down 
at last with a miserable pension of fifteen hundred 
pounds a-yeaK. Colonel Luttrell, Mr. Onslow, and 
governor Burgoyne, were equally engaged with you. 
and have rather more reason to complain than 3Ir 
Bradshaw. These are men, my lord, whose friend- 
ship you should have adhered to on the same prin- 
ciple on which you deserted lord Rockingham, lorr' 
Chatham, lord Camden, and the duke of Portland. 
We can easily account for your violating your en- 
gagements with men of honour ; but why should 
you betray 3'our natural connexions ? Why sepa- 
rate yourself from lord Sandwich, lord Gower, and 
Mr. Rigby ; or leave the three worthy gentlemen 
above-mentioned to shift for themselves ? With a\i 
ths fashionable indulgence of the times, this coun- 
try does not abound in characters like theirs ; and 
you may find it a very difficult matter to recruit the 
black catalogue of your friends. 

house of commons, that no pension was ever so well 
deserved as Mr. Braushaw's. N. B. Lord Caoiden and sir 
Jeffrey Amherst are not near so well provided for : ana 
K-r Edward Hawke, who saved the state, retires with two 
tliDUsand pounds a year on the Irish estal)lishment, from 
whkh he, in fact, r-ceives less than Mr. Bradsliaw's pen 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 13 

The recollection of the royal patent you sokl to 
Mr. Hiae, obliges me lo say a word in defence of a 
man, whom you have taken the most dishonourable 
means to injure. I do not refer to the sham pro- 
secution which you affected to carry on against 
him. On that ground, 1 doubt not, he is prepared 
to meet you with tenfold recrimination, and set you 
at defiance. The injury you had done iiim affects 
his moral character. You knew that the offer to 
purchase the reversion of a place, which has here- 
tofore been sold under a decree of the court of 
chancei-y, however imprudent in his situation, 
would no way tend to cover him with that sort oi 
guilt which you wished to fix upon him in the eyes 
of the world. You laboured then, by every species 
of false suggestion, and even by publishing coun- 
terfeit letters, to have it understood, that he had 
proposed terms of accommodation to you, and had 
■ffered to abandon his principles, his party, and his 
'riends. You consulted your own breast for a char- 
cter of consunnnate treachery, and gave it to the 
public for that of Mr. Vaughan. I think niyscU 
obliged to do this justice to an injured man, be- 
cause I was deceived by the appearances thrown 
out by your ^race, and have frequently spoken of 
his conduct with indignation. If he really be, what 
I thmk him, honest, though mistaken, he will be 
happy in recovering his reputation, though at the 
expense of his understanding. Here I see the mat- 
ter is likely to rest. Your grace is afraid to carry 
on the prosecution. INIr. Hine keeps quiet posses- 
sion of the purchase ; and governor Burgoyne, re- 
lieved from the app-'ehension of refunding thf 



(4 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

mone^, sits down, for the remainder of his life, in- 
famous and contented. 

I believe, my lord, I may now take my leave oi 
you for ever. You are no longer that resolute min- 
ister who had spirit to support the most violent mea- 
sures ; who compensated for the want of good and 
great qualities, by a brave determination (which sonje 
people admired and relied on) to maintain himself 
without them. The reputation of obstinacy and per- 
severance might have supplied the place of all the 
absent virtues. You have now added the last nega- 
tive to your character, and meanly confessed that you 
are destitute of the common spirit of a man. Re- 
tire, then, my lord, and hide your blushes from the 
world ; for, with such a load of shame, even hlack 
may change its colour. A mind such as yours, in the 
solitary hours of domestic enjoyuK^it, may still find 
topics of consolation. You may find it in the memory 
of violated friendship; in the afflictions of an accom- 
plished prince, whom yon have disgraced and desert- 
ed ; and in the agitations of a grent country, driven, 
by your counsels, to the brink of destruction. 

The palm of ministerial firmnp<:«; is now transferred 
to lord North. He tells us so h elf, and with the 
plenitude of the ore rotunda ;* and I am ready enough 
to believe, that, while he can keep his place, he will 
not easily be persuaded to resign it. Your grace 



* This eloquent person has got as far as the discipline of 
Demosthenes. He constantly speaks with pebbles in hij 
mouth, to improve his articulation. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 14 

was tlie irm minister of yesterday ; lord North is he 
firm minister of to-day : to-morrow, perhaps, his 
majesty, in his wisdom, may give us a rival for you 
both. You are too well c^cquainted with the temper 
of your late allies, to think it possible that lord North 
should be permitted to govern tiiis country. If we 
may believe common fame, they have shown him 
their superiority alread3\ His majp^ty is, indeed, 
too gracious to insult his subjecis, by choosing his 
first mi lister from among the domestics of the duke 
of Bod lord ; that would have been too gross an out- 
rage 1'.< the three kingdoms. Their purpose, how- 
ever, J.) equally answered, by pushing forward this 
u\\]ijfipy figure, and forcing it to bear the odium of 
mensares, which they in reality direct. Without im- 
med'i'itely appearing to govern, they possess the pow- 
er, owd distribute the emoluments of government, as 
the^' think proper. They still adhere to the spirit ol 
that calculation which made Mr. Luttrell representa- 
tive of Middlesex. Far from regretting your retreat, 
tliey assure us, very gravely, that it increases the real 
strength of the ministry. According to this way of 
reasoning, they will probably grow stronger and more 
flourishing every hour they exist : for I think there is 
hardly a day passes in which some one or other of 
his majesty's servants does not leave them to improve 
by the loss of his assistance. But, alas ! their coun- 
tenances speak a different language. When the mem- 
bers drop off, the main body cannot be insensible of 
its approaching dissolution. Even the violencf.' of 
their proceedings is a signal of despair. Like broken 
tenants, who have had warning to quit the premises, 



16 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

they curse their landlord, destroy the fixtures, throi* 
every tliinf^ into confusion, and care not what mis- 
chief they do to the estate. 

JUNIUS. 



XXXVII. 



To the Prr^^er of the Ptdlic Advertiser 

S!;l, March 19, 1770. 

I believe there is no man, however indifferent 
about the interests of this country, who will not 
readily confess, that the situation to which we are 
now reduced, whether it has arisen from the violence 
of faction, or from an arbitrary system of govern- 
ment, justifies the most melancholy apprehensions, 
and calls for the exertion of whatever wisdom or 
vigour is left among us. The king's answer to the re- 
monstrance of tlie city of London, and the measures 
since adopted by the ministry, amount to a plain de- 
claration, that the principle on which Mr. Luttrell 
was seated in the house of commons, is to be sup- 
ported in a.l its consequences, and carried to its ut- 
most extent. The same spirit which violated the 
freedom of election, now invades the declaration and 
bill of rights, and threatens to punish the subject for 
exercising a privilege hitherto undisputed, of petition- 
ng the crown. The grievances of the people are 
aggravated by insults ; their complaints not merely 
disregarded, hut checl ?d by yuthority ; and e\erj 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 11 

one of those acts again?', \rhich they remonslraled. 
confirmed by the king's decisive appi*obation. At 
such a moment, no honest man will remain silent or 
inactive. However distinguished by rank or proper- 
ty, in the rights of fi-eedom we are all equal. As we 
are Englishmen, the least considerable man among 
lis has ap inte-*»st equal to the proudest nobleman in 
ilio laws and constitution of his country, and is 
••(luully called upon to make a generous contribution 
ill support of them ; whether it be tiie heart to con- 
ceive, the understanding to direct, or the hand to 
execute. It is a common cause in which we are all 
interested, in which we should all be engaged. The 
man who deserts it at this alarming crisis, is an ene- 
my to his country, and, what I think of infinitely less 
importance, a traitor to his sovereign. Tiie subject, 
who is truly loyal to the chief magistrate, will neither 
advise or submit to arbitrary measures. The city of 
London hath given an example, which, I doubt not, 
will be followed by the whole kingdom. The noble 
spirit of the metropolis is the life-blood of the state, 
collected at the heart : from that point it circulates, 
with health and vigour, through every artery of the 
constitution. The time is come when the body of the 
English people must assert their own cause : con- 
8ciou3 of their strength, and animated by a sense of 
their duty, they will not surrender their birth-right 
to ministers, parliaments, or kings. The city of 
London have expressed their sentiments with freedom 
and firmness ; they have spoken truth boldly ; and, 
in whatsoever light their remonstrance may be repre- 
sented by courtiers, 1 defy iha most subtile lawyer in 
this co'aatry to point out a single instance in whicJ 



18 JUNILS'S LETTERS. 

they have exceeded the t/uth. Even that assertion 
which we are told is most offensive to parliament, in 
the theory o*' the Enjjlish constitution, is strictly true. 
If any part of tiie representative body be not chosen 
by the people, that part vitiates and corrupts the 
whole. If there be a defect in the representation ol 
the people, that power, which alone is equal to the 
making of the laws in this country, is not complete, 
and the acts of parliament, under that circumstance, 
are not the acts of a pure and entire legislature. ] 
speak of the tlieory of our constitution ; and what- 
ever difficulties or inconveniences may attend the 
practice, 1 am ready to maintain that, as far as the 
lact deviates from tiie principle, so far the practice la 
vicious and corrupt. 1 have not heard a question 
raised upon any other part of the remonstrance. 
That the principle on which the Middlesex election 
was determined, is more pernicious in its effects than 
either the levying of ship-money by Charles the 
First, or the suspending power assumed by his son 
will hardly be disputed by any man who understands 
or wishes well to the English constitution. It is noi 
an act of open violence done by the king, or any 
direct or palpable breach of the laws attempted by 
his minister, that can ever endanger the liberties ol 
this country. Against such a king or minister the 
people would immediately take the alarm, and all the 
parties unite to oppose him. The laws may be gross- 
ly violated in particular instances, without any direct 
attack upon the whole system. Facts of that kind 
stand alone ; ihey are attributed to necessity, not de- 
fended by principles. We can never be really in 
danger, until the forms of parliament are made us« 



JUNIUS'S ..ETTERS. I ft 

^f 10 dc« ioy the substance of our civil and puliticul 
fiberties ; until parliament itself betrays its trust, by 
contributing' to establish new principles of govern- 
ment, and employing the very weapons committed to 
it by the collective body to stab the constitution. 

As for the terms of the remonstrance, I presume it 
will not be affirmed, by any person less polished than 
a gentleman usher, that this is a season for compli- 
ments. Our gracious king, indeed, is abundantly 
civil to himself. Instead of an answer to a petition, 
his majesty very graciously pronounces his own pan- 
egyric ; and I confess that, as far as his personal be- 
haviour, or the royal purity of his intentions, is con- 
cerned, the truth of those declarations, which tliG 
minister has drawn up for his master, cannot decent- 
ly be disputed. In every other respect, I affirm, tliat 
^hey are absolutely unsupported either in argument 
or fact : I must add, too, that supposing the speech 
were otherwise unexceptionable, it is not a direci 
answer to the petition of the city. His majesty is 
pleased to say, that he is always ready to receive the 
request of his subjects ; yet the sheriffs were twice 
sent back with an excuse ; and it was certainly de- 
bated in council, whether or no the magis^irates oi 
the city of London should be admitted to an au- 
dience. Whether the remonstrance be or be not in- 
"urious to parliament, is the very question between 
the parliament and the people, and such a question 
as cannot be decided by the assertion of a third party, 
however respectable. That the petitioning for : 
dissolution of parliament is irreconcilable with the 
principles of the constitution, is a new doctrine. 
His majesty, perhaps, has not been informed, that 



20 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

the house of commons themselves, have, b^' a for 
mal resolution, admiiled it to be the right oftiie sub« 
ject. His majesty proceeds to assure us, that he has 
made the laws the rule of his conduct. Was it in 
ordering or permitting his ministers to apprehend Mr. 
VVlkcs by a general warrant ? Was it in suffering 
his ministers to revive the obsolete maxim of nullum 
tcmpus, to rob the duke of Portland of his property, 
and thereby give a decisive turn to a county election f 
Was it in erecting a chamber consultation of sur- 
geons, with authority to examine into and supersede 
the legal verdict of a jury ? Or did his majesty 
consult the laws of this country, when he permitted 
his secretary of state to declare, that, whenever the 
civil magistrate is trifled with, a military force must 
be sent for, without the delay of a moment, and ei- 
fectually employed ? Or was it in the barbarous ex- 
actness with which this illegal, inhuman doctrine was 
carried into execution ? If his majesty had recol- 
lected these facts, I think, he would never have said, 
ttt least with any reference to the measures of his 
government, that he had made the laws the rule ol 
his conduct. To talk of preserving the affections, 
or relying on the support of his subjects, while he 
continues to act jpon these principles, is, indeed, 
paying a compliment to their loyalty, which, I hope, 
they have too much spirit and understanding to 
deserve. 

His majesty, we are told, is not only punctual in 
the performance of his own duty, but careful not to 
assume any of those powers which the constitution 
has placed in other hands. Admittmg this last as- 
sertion to be strictly true, it is no waj to the purpose 



JUx^IUS'F LETTERS. 2« 

The city of London have not desired the king to as- 
sume a power placed in other hands. If they had, I 
should Iiope to see the person who dared to present 
such a petition immediately impeached. They so- 
licit th.eir sovereign to exert that constitutional au- 
thority which the laws have vested in him for the 
benefit of his subjects. They call upon him to make 
use of his lawful prerogative in a case which our 
laws evidently supposed might happen, since they 
have provided for it by trusting the sovereign with a 
discretionary power to dissolve the parliament. This 
request will, I am confident, be supported by remon- 
strances from all parts of the kingdom. His majes- 
ty will find, at last, that this is the sense of his peo- 
ple ; and that it is not his interest to support either 
ministry or parliament at tiie hazard of a breach 
with the collective body of his subjects. That he is 
king of a free people, is, indeed, his greatest glory. 
That he may long continue the king of a free people 
's the second wish that animates my hearts The first 
is, that the people may be free.* 



* When his majesty had done reactfng his speech, the 
lord mayor, &c. had the honour of kissing his niajc-ty's 
hand : after which, as tlioy were withdrawing, his majesty 
mstantly timed round to his courtiers, and burst out a 
laughing. 

Nei'o Jiddlcd. while Rome was. burning. 

JOHN HORNE. 



22 JUNIUSS LETTERS 



XXXVIII. 

To tne Printer of the Public Adverttser: 

SIR, April 3, 1770. 

In my lasi letter I offered you my opinion of th« 
'ruth and propriety of his majesty's answer to the city 
of London, considering it merely as the speech of a 
minister, drawn up in his own defence, and delivered, 
as usual, by the chief magistrate. I would separate, 
as much as possible, the king's personal character 
and behaviour from the acts of the present govern- 
ment. I wish it to be understood that his majesty 
had, in effect, no more concern in the substance of 
what he said, than sir James Hodges had in the re- 
monstrance ; and that as sir James, in virtue of his 
office, was obliged to speak the sentiments of the 
people, his majesty might think himself bound, by 
the same official obligation, to give a graceful ut- 
terance to the sentiments of his minister. The cold 
formality of a well-repeated lesson is widely distant 
from the animated expression o( 'he heart 

This distinction, however, is only true with respecl 
to the measure itself. The consequences of it reach 
beyond tlie minister, and materially affect his majes- 
ty's honour. In their own nature they are formida- 
ble enough to alarm a man of prudence, and dis- 
graceful enough to afflict a man of spirit. A subject, 
whose sincere attachment to his majesty's person and 
family is founded upon rational princip' es, will not» 



JLNIUS'S I.IOTTERS. ia 

in lUc )resent conjuncture, be scrupulous of alarm 
nig, or even of afflicting, his sovereign. I know 
there is another sort of loyalty, of which his majesty 
has had plenty of experience. When the loyalty ol 
Tories, Jacobites, and Scotchmen, has once taken 
possession of an unhappy prince, it seldom leaves 
him without accomplishing his destruction. When 
the poison of their doctrines has tainted the natural 
benevolence of his disposition, when their insidious 
counsels have corrupted the stamina of his govern- 
ment, what antidote can restore him to his political 
health and honour but the firm sincerity of his Eng- 
lish subjects ? 

It has not been usual, in this country, at least 
since the days of Charles the First, to see the sove- 
reign personally at variance, or engaged in a direct 
altercation with his subjects. Acts of grace and in- 
■dulgence are wisely appropriated to him, and should 
»:onstantly be performed by himself. He never should 
appear but in an amiable light to his subjects. Even 
111 France, as long as any ideas of a limited monar- 
chy were thought worth preserving, it was a maxim 
that no man s!)ould leave the royal presence discon- 
tented. They have lost or renounced the moderate 
principles of iheir government ; and now, when their 
parliaments \ eiitJire to remonstrate, the tyrant comes 
forward :«ii(l answers absolutely for himself. The 
spirit of their present constitution requires that the 
king should be feared ; and the principle, i believe, 
is tolerably supported by the fact. But, in our po- 
litical system, the theory is at variance with the prac- 
tice, for the king should be beloved. Measures Oi 
greater severitj may, indeed, in some circumstances 



24 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

be necesiary : but the minister who advises should 
take the execution and odium of them entirely upon 
himself. He not only betrays his master, but vio- 
lates the spirit of the English constitution, when he 
exposes the chief magistrate to the personal hatred 
or contempt o! his subjects When we speak of the 
firnmess of government, we mean an uniform sys- 
tem of measures, deliberately adopted, and resolute- 
ly maintained by the servants of the crown ; not a 
peevish asperity in the language and behaviour of the 
sovereign. The government of a weak, irresolute 
monarch, may be wise, moderate, and firm : that oi 
an obstinate, capricious prince, on the contrary, may 
be feeble, undetermined, and relaxed. The reputa- 
tion of public measures depends upon the minister, 
who is responsible ; not upon the king, whose pri- 
vate opinions are not supposed to have any weight 
against the adWce of his council, and whose personal 
authority should, therefore, never be interposed in 
public affairs. This, I believe, is true constitutional 
doctrine. But for a moment let us suppose it false. 
Let it be taken for granted, that an occasion may 
arise in which a king of England shall be compelled 
to take upon himself the ungrateful office of rejecting 
the petitions and censuring the conduct of his sub- 
jects ; and let the city remonstrance be suppose*! to 
have created so extraordinary an occasion. On t/iii 
principle, which I presume no friend of administra- 
tion will dispute, let the wisdom and spirit of the 
ministry be examined. They advise the king to 
hazard his dignity, by a positive declaration of his 
own sentunents J they suggest to 1 im a language ful. 
Df severity and reproach. What follows ? Wheir 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. i5 

his majesty had taken so decisive a part in support 
of his ministry and parliament, he had a right to ex- 
pect from them a reciprocal demonstration of firmness 
in their own cause, and of their zeal for his honour. 
He had reason to expect (and such, I doubt not, were 
the blustering promises of lord North) that the per- 
sons whom he had been advised to charge with hav- 
mg failed in their respect to him, with having injured 
parliament, and violated the principles of the con- 
stitution, should not have been permitted to escape 
without some severe marks of the displeasure and 
vengeance of parliament. As the matter stands, the 
minister, after placing his sovereign in the most un- 
favourable light to his subjects, and after attempting 
to fix the ridicule and odium of his own precipitat*i 
measures upon the royal character, leaves him a soli- 
tary figure upon the scene, to recall, if he can, or to 
compensate, by future compliances, for one unhappy 
demonstration of ill-supported firmness and ineffec- 
tual resentment. As a man of spirit, his majesty 
cannot but be sensible, that the lofty terms in which 
he was persuaded to reprimand the city, when united 
with the silly conclusion of the business, resembled 
the pomp of a mock tragedy, where the most pa- 
thetic sentiments, and even the sufferings of the hero, 
are calculated for derision. 

Such have been the boasted firmness and ccns s- 
tency of a minister,* whose appearance in the house 

• This graceful minister is oddly constructed. Hii 
tongue is a little ton big for his mouth, and his eyes a 
great deal too big for their sockets. Every part of hia 
person sets natural proportion at defiance. At this preser 

VOL. II. 6 



«6 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

of toruiiioiis was bought essential to tlie kind's s* r ' 
vice ; whose presence was to influence every divisio » , 
who had a voice to persuade, an eye to penetrate, a 
gp.Mire to command. The reputation of these gri at 
qindities has been fatal to his friends. The little dig- 
nity of Mr. E lis has been committed. The mine 
was sank ; combustibles were provided ; and \^ el- 
bore Ellis, the Guy Faux of the fable, waited o ily 
for the signal of command. All of a sudden the 
country gentlemen discover how grossly they h xve 
been deceived : the minister's heart fails him j the 
grand plot is defeated in a moment; and poor J dr. 
Ellis and his motion taken into custody. From the 
event of Friday last, one would imagine that stmc 
fatality hung over this gentleman. Whether he makes 
or suppresses a motion, he is equally sure of disgrace. 
But the complexion of the times will sufler no man 
to be vice-treasurer of Ireland with impunity.* 

writing his head is supposed to be much too heavy for his 

shoulders. 

* About this time the courtiers talked of nothing but 
a bill of pains and penalties against the lord mayor and 
sheriffs, or impeachment at the least. Little Mannikin 
Ellis told the king, that if the business were left to his 
management, he would engage to do wonders. It was 
thought very odd that a business of so much importance 
fliould be entrusted to the most contemptible little piece 
of machinery in the whole kingdom. His honest zeal, 
however, was disappointed. The minister took fright ; 
and, at the very instant that little Ellis was going to 
open, sent him an order to sit down. All their mag- 
nanimous threats ended in a ridiculous vote of censure, 
and a stil. more ridiculous address to the king. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 21 

I do not inean to express the smallest anx'u'ty loi 
llie minister's reputation. He acts separately for 
himself, and the most shameful inconsistenry may 
perhaps be no disgrace to him. But when the sove- 
reign, who represents the majesty of the state, ap- 
pears in person, his dignity should be supported : 
the occasion should be important ; the plan well 
considered ; the execution steady and consistent. 
My zeal for his majesty's real honour, compels me 
to assert, that it has been too much the system of 
the present reign, to introduce him personally either 
to act for or defend his servants. They persuade 
him to do what is properly their business, and de- 
sert him in the midst of it. Yet this is an incon- 
venience to which he must for ever be exposed, 
while he adheres to a ministry divided among them- 
selves, or unequal in credit and ability to the great 
task they have undertaken. Instead of reserving 
the interposition of the royal personage as the last 
resource of government, their weakness obliges them 
to apply it to every ordinary occasion, and to 
render it cheap and common in the opinion of the 
people. Instead of supporting their master, they 
look to him for support ; and for the emoluments 
of remaining one day more in office, care not hovt 
much his sacred character is prostituted and dis- 
hcnoured. 

If I thought it possible for this paper to reach the 
closet, I would venture to appeal at once to hij 
majesty's judgment. I would ask him, but in the 
most respectful terms, " As you are a young man, 
gir, who ought to have a life of happiness in pros- 
pect ; as you are a husband, as you are a fa' her 



28 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

(your filial duties, 1 own, have been relifriousl^ pet' 
formed) is it bona Jide for your interest or you/ 
honour, to sacrifice your domestic tranquillity, and 
to live in a perpetual disagreement with your people, 
merely to preserve such a chain of beings as North, 
Barrington, Weymouth, Cower, Ellis, Onslow, 
Rigby, Jerry Dyson, and Sandwich ? Their very 
names are a satire upon all government ! and I defy 
the gravest of your chaplains to read the catalogue 
without laughing." 

For my own part, sir, I have always considered 
addresses from parliament, as a fashionable, un- 
meaning formality. Usurpers, idiots, and tyrants, 
have been successively complimented with almost 
the same professions of duty and affection. But 
let us suppose them to mean exactly what they pro- 
fess. The consequences deserve to be considered. 
Either the sovereign is a man of high spirit and 
dangerous ambition, ready to take advantage of the 
treachery of the parliament, ready to accept of the 
surrender they make him of the public liberty' ; or 
he is a mild, undesigning prince, who, provided 
they indulge him with a little state and pageantry 
would of himself intend n^ mischief. On the first 
supposition, it must soon be decided by the sword., 
whether the constitution should be lost or preserved. 
On the second, a prince, no way qualified for the 
execution of a great and hazardous enterprise, and 
without any determined object in view, may never- 
theless be driven into such desperate measures, as 
may lead directly to his ruin ; or disgrace himself 
by a shameful fluctuation between tlie extremes of 
violence at one moment, and timid) ly at another 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 29 

The in.nisier, perhaps, may have reason to be satis- 
fied with the success of the present hour, and w'th 
the profits of his employinent. He is the tenant ol 
the day, and has no interest in the inheritance. 
The sovereign himself is bound by otJjer obligations, 
and ought to look forward to a superior, a perma- 
nent interest. His paternal tenderness should re- 
innid him how many hostages he has given to so- 
ciety. The ties of nature come powerfully in aid 
of oaths and protestations. The father, who con- 
siders his own precarious state of health, and the 
possible hazard of a long minority, will wish to see 
the family estate free and unincumbered.* What 
is the dignity of the crown, though it were really 
maintained; what is the honour of parliament, sup- 
posing it could exist without any foundation of in- 
tegrity and justice; or what is the vain reputation 
of firmness, even if the scheme of the government 
were uniforn) and consistent, compared with the 
heart-felt afiections of the people, with the happiness 
and security of the royal family, or even with the 
grateful acclamations of the populace.'' Whatever 
style of contempt may be adopted by ministers or 
parliaments, no man sincerely despises the voice o. 
the English nation. The house of commons are 
only interpreters, whose duty it is to convey the 
sense of the people faithfully to the crown. If the 
interpretation be false or imperfect, the constituent 
powers are called upon to deliver their own senti- 

* Every true friend to the house of Brunswick sees with 
aflliction how rapidly some of the principal branches of the 
"ami y have dropped off 



30 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ments. Their speech is rude, but intelligibli, ; their 
gestures fierce, but full of explanation. Perjilexed 
oy sophistries, their honest eloquence lises into 
action. Their first appeal was to the integrity of 
their representatives ; their second, to the king'i 
justice. The last argument of the people, whenever 
they have recourse to it, will carry more perhaps, 
than persuasion to parliament, or supplication to the 
throne. 

JUNITS. 



XXXIX. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, May 28, 1770. 

While parliament was sitting, it would neither 
have been safe, or, perhaps, quite regular, to offer 
any opinion to the public upon the justice or wis- 
dom of their proceedings. To pronounce fairly 
upon their conduct, it was necessary to wait until 
we could consider, in one view, the oeginning, pro- 
gress, and conclusion of their deliberations. Tlie 
ciiuse of the public was undertaken and supported 
by men, whose abilities and united authority, to say 
nothing of the advantageous ground they stood on, 
might well be thought sufficient to determine a po- 
pular question in favour of the people. Neither was 
the house of commons so absolulely engaged in 
defence of the ministry, or even of their own re§o- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 31 

iutions, but that they miglit have paid soue decent 
refjard to the known disposition of their constitu- 
ents ; and without any dishonour to their firmness, 
might have retracted an opinion too hastih adopted, 
when they saw the alarm It had created, md how 
strongly it was opposed by tlie general sense oi 
the nation. The ministry, too, would have con- 
sulted their own Immediate Interest In making some 
concession satisfactory to the moderate part of the 
people. Without touching the fact, they might 
have consented to guard against, or give up, the 
dangerous principle on which It was established. 
In this state of things, I think it was highly im- 
probable, at the beginning of the session, that the 
complaints of the people upon a matter, which in 
their apprehension at least, Immediately affected the 
life of the constitution, would be treated with as 
much contempt by their own representatives, and by 
the house of lords, as they had been by the othev 
branch of the legislature. Despairing of their in- 
tegrity, we had a right ^o expect something from 
their prudence, and oumething from their fears. 
The duke of Grafton certainly did not foresee to 
what an extent the corruption of a parliament 
might be carried. He thought, perhaps, that there 
was still some portion of shame or virtue left in the 
majority of the house of commons, or that there 
Mas a line in public prostitution beyond which they 
would scruple to proceed. Had the 3'oung man been 
a litt'e more practised in the world, or had he 
ventured to measure the characters of other men 
by his own, he would not have been so easily 
disrniiraped. 



52 JUNIUS'S i.KTTEIlS. 

The prorogation of parliament naturall^y calU 
apon us to review their proceedings, and tc con- 
sider the condition in which they have left the king- 
dom.. I do not question hut they have done what 
is usually called the king's business, much to his 
majesty's satisfaction : we have only to lament, that, 
in ooi!sequence of a system introduced or revived 
in the present reigji, this kind of merit should b^; 
very consistent with the neglect of every duty they 
owe to the nation. Tlie interval between the open- 
ing of the last, and close of the former session, was 
longer than usual. Whatever were the views of the 
minister in deferring the meeting of parliament, 
sufficient time was certainly given to every membei 
of the house of commons, to look back upon the 
steps he had taken, and the consequences they had 
produced. The zeal of party, the violence of per- 
sonal animosities, and the heat of contention, had 
leisure to subside. From that period, whatever re- 
solution they took was deliberate and prepense. 
In the preceding session, the dependents of the 
ministry had affected to believe, that the final deter- 
mination of the question would have satisfied the 
nation, or at least put a stop to their complaints; 
as if the certainty of an evil could diminish the sense 
of it, or the nature of injustice could be altered by 
decision. But they found the people of England 
Were in a temper very distant from submission ; and 
although it was contended that the house of commons 
could not themselves reverse a resolution which had 
the force and effec.; of a judicial sentence, there were 
other constitutional expedients which would have 
given a security against any similar attempts for the 



JLNIUS'S LETTERS. 33 

*Uiure riie general pruposition, in which the wholfl 
country had an interest, niiglit have been reduced to 
a particuhir fact, in which iMr. Wilkes and Mr. Lut- 
trell would alone have been concerned. The house 
of lords might interpose ; the king might dissolve the 
parliament ; or if every other resource failed, there 
still lay a grand . onstitutional writ of error, in be- 
iialf of the people, from the decision of one court to 
the wisdom of the whole legislature. Every one of 
these remedies has been successively attempted. The 
people performed their part with dignity, spirit, and 
perseverance. For many months his majesty heard 
nothing from his people but the language of complaint 
and resentment: uniiappily for this country, it was the 
daily triumph of his courtiers, that he heard it with 
an indifference approaching contempt. 

The house of commons, having assumed a power 
unknown to the constitution, were determined not 
merely to support it in the single instance in ques- 
tion, but to maintain the doctrine in its utmost ex- 
tent, and to establish the fact as a precedent in law, 
to be applied in whatever manner his majesty's ser- 
vants should hereafter think fit. Their proceedings 
upon this occasion are a strong proof that a decision, 
m the first instance illegal and unjust, can only be 
supported by a continuation of falehood and injustice. 
Tc support their former resolutions, they were obliged 
ta violate some of the best known and established 
rules of the house. In one instance, they went so 
far as to declare, in open defiance of truth and com- 
mon sense, that it was not the rule of the house to 

divide a complicated question at the request of a 
B 2 S 



34 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

member.* But, after trampling upon the laws of the 
laud. It was not wonderful that they should treat the 
private regulations of their own assembly with equal 
disregard. The speaker, being young in office, bo 
gan with pretended ignorance, and eiuled with do 
elding for the ministry We are not surprised at thf 
decision ; but he hesitated and blus.hed at his ow:t 
baseness, and every man was astonished. t 

Tiie interest of the public was vigorously iupjiort- 
ed in the house of lords. The right to defend the 
constitution against an encroachment of the other 
estates, and the necessity of exerting it at this period, 
was urged to them with every argument that could be 
supposed to influence tht heart or the understanding. 

* The extravagant resolution appears in tlie vote of the 
iiouse ; but, iu the nihiutes of the committees, the in- 
stances of resolutions contrary to law and truth, or of re- 
fusals to acknowledge law and truth when proposed to them, 
are innumerable. 

t When the king first made it a measure of his govern- 
ment to destroy Mr. Wilkes, and when, for this purpose, it 
was necessary to run down privilege, Sir Fletcher Norton, 
with his usual prostituted effrontery, assured the house ol 
commons, that he should regard one of their votes no moi e 
than a resolution of so many drunken porters. This ii 
the very lawyer whom Ben Jonson describes in the follow 
fng lines : 

" Gives forked counsel ; takes provoking gold 
On either hand, and puts it up. 
So wise, so grave, of so perplex'd a tongue, 
Aud loud withal, that would not wag, nor scarce 
Lie still, without: a fee" 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 34 

But it ooon appeared that they had alread}' \:aken 
their part, and were determined to support the house 
of commons, not only at the expense of truth and 
decency, but even by a surrender of their own most 
important rights. Instead of performing that duty 
wliich the constitution expected from them, in return 
for the dignity and independence of their station, in 
return for the hereditary share it has given them in 
the legislature, the majority of them made common 
cause with the other house in oppressing the people, 
and established another doctrine as false in itself, and, 
if possible, more pernicious to the constitution, than 
that on which the Middlesex election was determined. 
By resolving, " that they had no right to impeach a 
judgment of the house of commons, in any case 
whatsoever, where that house has a competent juris- 
cliction," they, in effect, gave up that constitutional 
check and reciprocal control of one branch of the 
legislature over the other, which is, perhaps, tlie 
greatest and most important object provided for by 
the division of the whole legislative power into three 
estates : and now let the judicial decisions of the 
house of commons be ever so extravagant, let their 
declarations of the law be ever so flagrantly false, 
arbitrary, and oppressive to the subject, the house of 
lords have imposed a slavish silence upon then)selves; 
they cannot interpose ; they cannot protect the sub- 
ject ; they cannot defend the laws of their country 
A concession so extraordinary in itself, so contradic- 
tory to the principles of their own institution, cannot 
but alarm the most unsuspecting mind. We may 
well conclude that the lords would hardly have yielded 
o much to the otlier house without the certainty of a 



33 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

toinpensation, which can only be made do Jieni ',' 
ihe expense of the people.* The arbitrary powci 
ihey have assumed, of imposing fines, and commit- 
ling during pleasure, will now be exercised in its full 
extent. The house of commons are loo much in 
their debt to question or interrupt their proceedings. 
The crown too, we may be well assured, will lose 
nothing in this new distribution of power. After de- 
claring, that, to petition for a dissolution of parlia- 
ment is irreconcilable with the principles of the con- 
stitution, his majesty has reason to expect that some 
extraordinary compliment will be returned to the 
royal prerogative. The three branci.es cf the legis- 
lature seem to treai their separate rights and interests 
as the Roman triumvirs did their friends ; they reci- 
procally sacrifice them to the animosities of each 
other; and establ'sh a detestable union among them- 
selves, upon the ruin of the laws and liberty of iht 
commonwealth. Through the whole proceedings o 
the house of commons, in this session, there is a^ 
apparent, a palpable consciousness of guilt, which 
has prevented their daring to assert their own dignity, 
where it has been immediately and grossly attacked. 
In the course of Dr. ^Ksgrave's examination, he 
said every thing that can be conceived mortifying to 
individuals, or ofiensive to the house They voted 

* The man, who resists and ovrrcomes this iniquitous 
power, assumed by the lords, must be supported by the 
whole people. We have the laws on our side, and want 
nothing but an uurepid leader. Wheu such a man stands 
forth, let th? nation look to it. It is uot bis cause, but our 
own 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 37 

his informaiion frivolous : but they were awed by bis 
firmness and integrity, and sunk under it.* 'T\ e 
terms in which the sale of a patent to Mr. Hine were 
communicated to the public, naturally called for » 
parliamentary inquiry. The integrity of the house 
of commons was directly impeached : but they had 
noi courage to move in their own vindication, because 
the inquiry would have been fatal to colonel Burgoyne 
and the duke of Grafton. When sir George Saville 
branded them with the name of traitors to their con- 
stituents, when the lord mayor, the sheriffs, and Mr. 
Trecothick expressly avowed and maintained evor^ 
part of the city remonstrance, why did they tamely 
submit to be insulted ? Why did they not immedi- 
ately expel those refractory members ? Conscious of 
the motives on which they had acted, they prudently 
preferred infamy to danger, and were better prepared 
to meet the contempt, than to rouse the indignation 
of the whole people. Had they expelled those five 
members, the consequences of the new doctrine of 
incapacitation would have come immediately home to 
every man. The truth of it would then have been 
fairly tried, without any reference to Mr. Wilkes's 
private character, or the dignity of the house, or the 
obstinacy of one particular county. These topics, I 
know, have had their weight with men, who, affecting 
a character of moderation, in reality consult nothing 

* The examination of this firm, honest man, is printed 
for Almon. The reader will find it a most curiouu -.... most 
interesting tract. Doctor Musgrave, with no other jupport 
but truth and his own firmness, resisted and overcame the 
vhole house of commons 



38 JUi\[LS'S LETTERS. 

but their own immediate ease ; who are weak enough 
to acquiesce under a llagrant violation of the laws 
when it does not directly touch themselves ; and care 
not what injustice is practised upon a nmn whose 
moral character they piously think themselves obliged 
to condemn. In any other circumstances, the house' 
of commons must have forfeited all credit and dignity, 
if, after such gross provocation, they had permitted 
those five gentlemen to sit any longer among them. 
We should then have seen and felt the operation of a 
precedent, which is represented to be perfectly barren 
and harmless. But there is a set of men in this coun 
try, whose understandings measure the violation o. 
law by the magnitude of the instance, not by the im- 
portant consequences which flow directly from the 
principle ; and the minister, I presume, did not think 
it safe to quicken their apprehensions too soon. Had 
Mr. Hampden reasoned and acted like the moderate 
men of these days, instead of hazarding his whole 
fortune in a lawsuit with the crown, he would have 
quietly paid the twenty shilhngs demanded of ham ; 
the Stuart family would probably have continued 
upon the throne ; and at this moment the imposition 
of ship-money would have been an acknowledged 
prerogative of the crown. 

What then has been the business of the session, af- 
ter voting the supplies, and confirming the determin- 
ation of the Middlesex election .'* The extraordinary 
prorogation of the Irish parliament, and the just 
discontents of that kingdom, have been passed by 
without notice. Neither the general situation of our 
colonies, nor that particular distress which forced the 
inhabitants ol' Boston to take up arms in their de> 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. ,i£ 

eiice, have been thouglit worthy of a uioinent's con- 
sideration. In the repeal of those aiis which were 
most offensive to America, the parliament have done 
every thing but remove the offence. They have re- 
linquished the revenue, but judiciously taken care to 
preserve the contention. It is not pretended thai the 
continuation of the tea-duty is to produce any direct 
benefit whatsoever to the mother country. What is 
it then, but an odious, unprofitable exertion of a 
speculative right, and fixing a badge of slavery upon 
the Americans, without service to their masters ? Bu; 
it has pleased God to give us a ministry and a par- 
liament, who are neither to be persuaded by argu 
ment, nor instructed by experience. 

Lord Nortii, I presume, will not claim an extra- 
ordinary merit from any thing he has done this year, 
in the improvement or application of the revenue. 
A great operation, directed to an important object, 
Uiough it should fail of success, marks the genius, 
and elevates the character of a minister. A poor 
contracted understanding deals in little schemes, 
which dishonour him if they fail, and do him no 
credit when they succeed. Lord North had fortu- 
nately the means in his possession of reducing all the 
four per cents, at once. The failure of his first en- 
terprise in finance is not half so disgraceful to his re- 
putation as a minister, as the enterprise itself is in 
jurious to the public. Instead of striking one deci- 
sive blow, which would have cleared the market at 
once, upon terms proportioned to the price of the 
four per cents, six weeks ago, lie has tampered with 
a pitiful portion of a commodity which ought never 
to have been touched but in gross He has given 



40 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

notice to the holders of that stock, of a design formed 
by government to prevail upon them to surrender i( 
b^ degrees, consequently has warned them to hold 
up and enhance the price : so that the plan of redu- 
ting the four per cents, must either be dropped en- 
irely, or continued with an increasing disadvantage 
to the public. The minister's sagacity lias served to 
raise the value of the thing he means to purchase, and 
to sink that of the three pe?' cents, which it is his pur- 
pose to sell. In effect, he has contrived to make it 
the interest of the proprietor of the four per cents, to 
sell out, and buy three per cents, in the market, ra- 
ther than subscribe his stock upon any terms that can 
possibly be offered by government. 

The state of the nation leads us naturally to con- 
sider the situation of the king. The prorogation of 
parliament has the effect of a temporary dissolution. 
The odium of measures adopted by the collective bo- 
dy sits lightly upon the separate members who com- 
posed it. They retire into summer quarters, and rest 
from the disgraceful labours of the campaign. IJut 
as for the sovereign, it is not so ivith him : he ha- a 
permanent existence in this country ; he cannot with- 
draw himself from the complaints, the discontents, 
the reproaches of his subjects. They pursue him to 
his retirement, and invade his domestic happiness, 
when no address can be obtained from an obsequious 
parliament to encourage or console him. In other 
times, the interest of the king and tlie people of 
England was, as it ought to be, entirely the same. A 
new system has not only been adopted in fact, but 
professed upon principle. Ministers are no longer the 
public servants of the state, but the private domestica 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 41 

of the sovereign. One* particulat class of men are 
permitted to call themselves the lung's friends, as il 
the body of the people were the king's enemies ; or, 
as if his majesty looked for a resource or consolation 
in the attachment of a few favourites, against the 
general contempt and detestation of his subjects. 
Edward and Richard the Second made the same dis- 
tinction between the collective body of the people^ 
and a contemptible party, who surrounded the throne, 
riie event of their mistaken conduct might have been 
a warning to their successors. Yet the errors of those 
princes were not without excuse. They had as many 
false friends as our present gracious sovereign, and 
infinitely greater temptations to seduce them. They 
were neither sober, religious, nor demure. Intoxi- 
cated with pleasure, they wasted their inheritance in 
pursuit of it. Their lives were like a rapid torrent 
brilliant in prospect, though useless or dangerous in 
its course. In the dull unanimated existence of other 
princes, we see nothing but a sickly stagnant water, 
which taints the atmosphere, without fertilising the 
soil. The morality of a king is not to be measured 
by vulgar rules. His situation is singular : there are 
faults which do him honour, and virtues that disgrace 
him. A fauhless. Insipid equality in his character, is 
neither capable of virtue or vice in the extreme; but 
it secures his submission to those persons whom lie 



* "An ignorant, mercenary, and servile crew; unani- 
mous in evil, diligeiit in mischief, variable in principles, con- 
stant to fl;ittery, talkers for liberty, but slaves to Dower • 
styling tlii-niselves the court party, and the prince's odIv 
fr'ends " DaoetKUi* 



42 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

has been accustoined to respect, and makes him a 
dangerous ins rument of tlieir ambition. Secluded 
from tlie world, attaciied from his infancy to one set 
of persons and one set of ideas, he can neither open 
bis lieart to new coimexions, nor his mind to bettor 
information. A character of this sort is liie soil lit- 
lest to produce that obstinate bigotry in politics and 
religion, which begins with a meritorious sacrifice o( 
the understanding, and finally conducts the monarch 
and the martyr to the block. At any other period, I 
doubt not, the scandalous disorders which have been 
introduced into the government of all the dependen- 
cies in the empire, woultl have roused the attention ol 
the public. The odious abuse and prostitution of the 
prerogative at home ; tlie unconstitutional employ- 
ment of the military ; the arbitrary fines and com- 
mitments by the house of lords and court of king's 
bench ; the mercy of a chaste and pious prince ex- 
tended cheerfully to a wilful murderer, because that 
murderer is the brother of a common prostitute ;* 
would, 1 think, at any other lime, have excited uni- 
versal indignation. But the daring attack upon the 
constitution, in tlie Middlesex election, makes us cal- 
lous and indilfereut to inferior grievances. No man 
regards an eruption upon the surface, when the noble 
parts are invaded, and he feels a mortification ap- 
proaching to his heart. The free election of our re- 
presentatives in parliament comprehends, because il 
is, the source and security of every right and privi 
lege of the English nation. The ministry have re- 
alised the ;ompendious ideas of Caligula. They 

* Miss Kennedy 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 43 

know iliat the liberty, the laws, and piv)perty of an 
Englishman, have, in truth, but one neck, and that 
o violate the freedom of election, strikes deeply at 
them all 

JUNIUS. 



XL. 

To Lord North. 

IMY LORD, August 22, 1770. 

Mr. Luttrell's services were the chief support and 
ornament of the duke of Grafton's administration. 
The honour of rewarding them was reserved for your 
lordship. The duke, it seems, had contracted an 
obligation he was ashamed to acknowledge, and una- 
ble to acquit. You, my lord, had no scruples. You 
acce[)ted the succession with all its encumbrances, and 
have paid Mr. Luttrell his legacy, at the hazard of 
ruining the estate. 

When this accomplished youth declared himself the 
champion of government, the world was busy, in- 
quiring what honours or emoluments could be a suf- 
ficient recompense to a young man of his rank and 
fortune, for submitting to mark ais entrance into life 
with the universal contempt and detestation of his 
rrountjy. His noble father had not been so precipi- 
tate. To vacate his seat in parliament; to intrude 
upon a county in which he had no interest or con- 
nexion ; to possess himself of another man's right, 
and to maintain it in defiance of public shame, as 



44 JUNIUS « LETTERS 

well as justice, bespoke a degree of zeal or of depravi- 
ty which :»ll the favour of a pious prince could hard- 
ly requite. I protest, my lord, there is in this young 
man's conduct a strain of prostitution, which, for its 
singularity I cannot but admire. He has discovered 
a new line in the human character ; he has degraded 
even the name of Luttrell, and gratified his father's 
most sanguine expectations. 

The duke of Grafton, with every possible disposi- 
tion to patronize this kind of merit, was contented 
with pr jnonncing colonel Luttrell's panegyric. The 
gdllaiit spirit, the disinterested zeal of the young ad- 
venturer, were echoed through the house of lords 
His grace repeatedly pledged himself to the house 
as an evidence of the purity of his friend Mr. Lut 
trell's intentions, that he had engaged without any 
prospect of personal benefit, and that the idea ol 
compensation would mortally oflcnd him.* The no- 
ble duke could hardly be in earnest ; but he had late- 
ry quitted his employment, and began to think it ne- 
cessary to take some care of his reputation. At that 
very moment the Irish negotiation was probably be- 
gun. Come forward, thou worthy representative o( 
Ivjrd Bute, and tell this insulted country, who advised 
the king to appoint Mr. Luttrell adjutant-general to 
the army in Ireland. By what management was 
colonel Cunninghame prevailed on to resign his em- 
ploytnent, and the obsequious Gisborne to accept of 
a pension for the government of Kinsale .'*t Was it 

* He now says that his great object is the rauh. of colo- 
ael, and tliat he will have it. 
t This iiifunu us transaction ought t^ be explained to the 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. V. 

an original stipulation with the princess of Wales ; oi 
does he owe his preferment to your lordsh'p's par- 
tiality, or to the duke of Bedford's friendship ? My 
lord, though it may not be possible to trace this mea- 
sure to its source, we can follow the stream, and 
warn the country of its approaching destruction. 
The English nation must be roused, and put upon 
its guard. Mr. Luttrell has already shown us how 
far he may be trusted, whenever an open attack is to 
be made upon the liberties of this country. I do not 
doubt that there is a deliberate plan formed. Your 
lordship best knows by whom. The corruption ol 
the legislative body on this side, a military force on 
the other, and then, farewell to England! It is im- 
possible that any minister shall dare to advise the 
king to place such a man as Luttrell in the confiden- 
tial post of adjutant-general, if there were not some 
secret purpose in view, which only such a man as 
Luttrell is fit to promote. The insult offered to the 
irmy in general is as gross as the outrage intended 

public. Colonel Gisborne was quarter-master-generai m 
Ireland. Lord Townshend persuaded him to resign to a 
Scotch ofFicer, one Frazer, and gives him the government 
of Kinsale. Colonel Cunninghame was adjutant-general in 
Ireland. Lord Townshend offers him a pension, to induce 
him to resign to Luttrell. Cunninghame treats the ofler 
with contempt. What's to be done ? Poor Gisborne must 
move once more. He accepts of a pension of 500?. a year, 
jntil a government of greater value shall become vacant. 
Colonel Cunninghame is made governor of Kinsale ; and 
Luttrell, at last, for whom the whole machinery is jiut in 
motion, becomes adjutant-general, and, in effect, takes 
the command of the army in Ireland. 



46 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

to the people of England. What ! lieutenant-colo- 
nel Luttrell adjutant-general of an army of sixteen 
thousand men ! One would think his majesty's cam- 
paigns at Blackheath and Wimbledon might have 
taught him better- I cannot help wishing genera) 
Harvey joy of a colleague who does so much honour 
to the employment. But, my lord, this measure is 
too daring to pass unnoticed, too dangerous to be 
received with indifference or submission. You shall 
not have time to new model the Irish army. They 
will not submit to be garbled by colonel Luttrell. A& 
a mischief to the English constitution, (for he is not 
worth the name of enemy) they already detest him. 
As a boy, impudently thrust over their heads, they 
will receive him with indignation and contempt. As 
for you, my lord, who, perhaps, are no more than 
the blind, unhappy instrument of lord Bute and her 
royal highness the princess of Wales, be assured, thai 
you shall be called upon to answf for the advice 
which has been given, and either discover your ac- 
complices, or fall a sacrifice to their security. 

JUNIUS 



xu. 



To the Right Honourable Lord Mansfield. 

MV LORD, November 14, 1770. 

The appearance of this letter will attract the ca- 
riosity of the public, and command even your lord- 
ship's attention. I am considerat/ly in your debt, and 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 47 

shall endeavour, once for all, to balance the account. 
Accept of tills address, mjr lord, as a prologue ta 
more important scenes, in which you will probably 
be called upon to act or sufler. 

You will not question my veracity, when I assure 
you, thai it has not been owing to any particular re- 
spect for your person that I have abstained from you 
so long. Besides the distress and danger with which 
the press is threatened, when your lordship is party, 
and the party is to be judge, I confess I iiave been 
deterred by the difficulty of the task. Our language 
has no U.rm of reproac':, the mind has no idea of de- 
testation, whiclj has not already been happily applied 
to you, and exhausted. Ample justice has been done, 
by abler pens dian mine, to the separate merits of 
your life and character. Let it be my humble office 
to collect the scattered sweets till their united virtue 
tortures the sense. 

Permit me to begin with paying a just tribute to 
Scotch sincerity, wherever 1 find it. I own I am not 
apt to confide in the professions of gentlemen of that 
country' ; and, when they smi^e, I feel an involunta- 
ry emotion to guard myself a^ ainst mischief. With 
this general opinion of an ancient nation, I always 
thought it much to your lordship's honour, that, in 
your earlier days, you were but little infected with 
the prudence of yotu* roimtry. You had some origi- 
nal attachments, which 3'ou took every proper oppor- 
tunity to acknowledge. The liberal spirit of youth 
prevailed over your naiive discretion. Your zeal in 
the cause of an unhappy prince was expressed with 
the sincerity of win°, and some of the solemnities 0/ 



48 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

religion.* This, I conceive, is the most amiab e 
point of view in which your character has appeared. 
Like an honest man, you took that part in politics, 
which might have been expected from your birth, 
education, country, and connexions. There was 
something generous in your attachment to the ban- 
shed house of Stuart. We lament the mistakes of a 
good man, and do not begin to detest him until he 
affects to renounce his prniciples. Why did you not 
adhere to tl .\i loyalty you once professed ? Why did 
you not follow the example of your worthy brother ?+ 
With him you might have shared in the honour of the 
pretender's confidence ; with him you might have 
preserved the integrity of your character ; and Eng- 
land, I think, might have spared you without regret. 
Your friends will say, perhaps, that, although you 
deserted the fortune of your liege lord, you have ad- 
hered firmly to the principles which drove his father 
from the throne ; that, without openly supporting the 
person, you have done essential service to the cause ; 
and consoled yourself for the loss of a favourite fami- 
ly, by reviving and establishing the maxims of their 
government. This is the way in which a Scotch- 
man's understanding corrects the errors of his heart. 
My lord, I acknowledge the truth of the defence, and 
can trace it through all your conduct. I see through 
your whole life one uniform plan to enlarge the pow- 

• This man was always a rank Jacobite. Lord Ravens 
worth produced the most satisfactory evidence of his having 
frequently drank the pretender's health on his knees. 

t Ct-nfidential secretary to the late pretender This cir- 
stanro fonfirnied the friendship between the brothers. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 49 

er of the crown, at the expense of the liberty of the 
subject. To this object your thoughts, words, and 
actions, have been constantly directed. In contempt 
or ignorance of the common law of England, you 
have made it your study to introduce into the court 
where you preside, maxims of jurisprudence un- 
known to Englishmen. The Roman code, the law 
of nations, and (he opinion of foreign civilians, are 
your perpetual theme ; but whoever heard you men- 
tion Magna Charta, or the Bill of Rights, with ap- 
probation or respect .'' By such treacherous arts the 
noble simplicity and free spirit of our Saxon laws 
were first corrupted. The Norman conquest was not 
complete, until Norman lawyers had introduced their 
laws, and reduced slavery to a system. This one 
leading principle directs your interpretation of the 
laws, and accounts for your treatment of juries. It is 
not in political questions only (for tiicre the courtier 
might be forgiven,) but let the cause be what it may, 
your understanding is equally on the rack, either to 
contract the power of the jury, or to mislead their 
judgment. For the truth of this assertion, I appeal to 
the doctrine you delivered in lord Grosvenor's cause. 
An action for criminal conversation being brought by 
a peer against a prince of the blood, you were daring 
enough to tell the jury, that, in fixing the damages, 
they were to pay no regard to the quality or fortune 
of the parties : that it was a trial between A and B , 
that they were to consider the offence in a moral light 
only, and give no greater damages to a peer of the 
realm, than to the meanest mechanic. I shall not 
attempt to refute a doctrine, which if it was meant for 
Taw, carries falsehood and absurdty upon the face oJ 

^L. II. C 4 



50 lUNIt.S'S LETTERS. 

It ; but, if it was meant for a declaration ol your po 
iitical creed, is clear and consistent. Under an arbi- 
trary government, all ranks and distinctions are con- 
ft)nnded : the honour of a nobleman is no more con- 
sidered llian the reputation of a peasant; for, with 
different liveries, they are equally slaves. 

Even i.i matters of priv ite property, we see the 
same bias and inclination to depart from the decisions 
of your predecessors, which you certainly ought to 
receive as evidence of the common law. Instead ot 
those certain positive rules by which the judgment ol 
a court of law should invariably be determined, you 
have fondly introduced your own unsettled notions 
of equity and substantial justice. Decisions given 
upon such principles do not alarm the public so much 
as they ought, because the consequence and tendency 
of each particular instance is not observed or re- 
garded. In the mean time, the practice gains ground ; 
the court of king's bench becomes a court of equity ; 
and the judge, instead of consulting strictly the law of 
the land, refers only to the wisdom of the court, and 
to the purity of liis own conscience. The name of 
Mr. Justice Yates wili naturally revive in your mind 
some of those emotions of fear and detestation with 
which you always beheld him. That great lawyer, 
that honest man, saw your whole conduct in the light 
that I do. After years of ineffectual resistance to the 
pernicious princijilcs introduced by your lordship, and 
uniformly supported by your humble friends upon the 
bench, he deter .nined to quit a court, whose proceed- 
ings and decisions he could neither assent to with 
bono'ir, nor oppose with success. 



JUMUS'S LETTERS. 61 

The injustice done to an individual* is sometiuxs 
i)f service to the public. Facts are apt to alarm us 
more than the most dangerous principles. The suf- 
ferings and firmness of a printer have roused the 
public attention. You knew and felt that your con 
duct would not bear a parliamentary inquiry ; and 
you hoped to escape it by the meanest, the basesv 
sacrifice of dignity and consistency that ever was 
made by a great magistrate. Where was your firm- 
ness, where was that vindictive spirit, of which we 
iiave seen so many examples, when a man so incon- 
siderable as Bingley could force you to confess, in 
the face of this country, that, for two years together, 
you had illegally deprived an English subject of his 
iiberty, and that he had iruniiphed over you at last f 
Yet, I own, my lord, fjiat yours is not an uncom- 
mon character. Women, and men like women, are 
timid, vindictive, and irresolute. Their passions 
counteract each other, and make the same creature 
at one moment hateful, at another contemptible. I 
fancy, my lord, some time will elapse before you 
venture to commit another Englishman for refusing 
to answer interrogatories.! 

* The oppression of an obscure individual gave birth to 
ihe famous Habeas Corpus Act of 31 Car. II. which is 
frequently considered as another Magna Charta of this 
kingdom. Blackatone, iii. 135. 

t Bingley was committed for contempt, in not submitting 
to be examined. He lay in prison two years, until the 
crown thought the matter might occasion some serious com- 
plaint, and therefore he was let out, in the same contume- 
lions St ite he had been put in, with all his srt s ab-»ut him, 



52 JUNIUS'S r.ETTERS. 

The doctrine you ha>e constantly delivered, \n 
cases of libel, is another powerful evidence of a set- 
tled plan to contract the legal power of juries, and 
to draw questions, inseparable from fact, within the 
nrbitrinm of the court. Here, my lord, you havf 
fortune on your side. When you invade the pro 
\ince of the jnry, in matter of libel, you, in effect 
attack the liberty of the press, and, with a single 
stroke, wound two of your greatest enemies. In some- 
instances you have succeeded, because jurymen are 
too often ignorant of their own rights, and too apt 
to be awed by the authority of a chief justice. In 
other criminal prosecutions, the malice of the design 
is confessedly as much the subject of consideration to 
a jury as the certainty of the fact. If a different 
doctrine prevails in the case of libels, why should it 
not extend to all criminal cases f Why not to capi- 
tal offences ^ I see no reason (and I dare say you 
will agree with me, that there is no good one) why 
the life of the subject should be better protected 
against you, ihaji his liberty or property. Why 
should you enjoy the full power of pillory, fine, and 
imprisonment, and not be indulged with hanging or 
transportation ^ With your lordship's fertile genius 
and merciful disposition, I can conceive such an ex- 
ercise of the power you have, as could hardly be ag- 
gravated by that which you have not. 

But, my lord, since you have laboured (and not 

unanointed and unanealed. There was much coquetry be- 
tween the «'curt and the attorney general, about who should 
undergo the ridicule of letting him escape. — Vide another 
Letter to Almon, p. 1 89. 



lUNlUS'S LETTERS. 53 

unsuccessfully) to destroy the subslancc of tne trials 
why should you sufier tlie form of the verdict to re- 
main f Why foi'ce twelve honest men, in palpable 
violation of their oaths, to pronounce their fellow- 
subject a guilty man, when, almost at the same mo- 
ment, you forbid their inquiring into the only cir- 
■:uinstiuice which, in the eye of law and reason, con- 
stitutes guilt — the malignity or innocence of his in- 
tentions ? But I understand your lordship. If you 
could succeed in making the trial by jury useless and 
ridiculous, you might then, with greater safety, in- 
troduce a bill intJ parliament for enlarging the ju- 
risdiction of the court, and extending your favourite 
trial by inte' rogatories to every question in which the 
life or liberty of an Englishman is concerned.* 

Your charge to the jury, in the prosecution against 
Aln)on and Woodfall, contradicts the highest legal 
authorities, as well as the plainest dictates of reason. 
In Miller's cause, and still more expressly in that of 
Baldwin, you have proceeded a step farther, and 

* The philosophical poet doth notably describe the dam- 
nable and damned proceedings of the judge of hell. 

* Gnossius hccc Rhadamanthus liabct (u.iissima regna, 
Castigatque, auditque dolos, subigdque Jateri.' 

First he punisheth, and then he heareth, and lastly coni- 
pclleth to confess, and makes and mars laws at his pleasure; 
like as the centurion, in the holy history, did to St. Paul ; 
for the text saith, ' Cenlurio apprehend! Paulum Jussit, el 
se catenis alligari, et tunc interrogabat qnis fuisset, et qnid 
fe<;isset.' But good judges and Justices abhor these courses. 
Coke, 2 Inst. 53. 



64 JUNIUS'S I.ETTERS. 

grossly c.oiitradicied yoiirseU". You may know, ptT' 
haps, tliough I do not mean to insult you by an ap 
peal to your experience, that the language of truth ii 
uniform and consistent. To depart from it safely, 
requires memory and discretion. In the last two 
trials, your charge to the jury began, as usual, with 
assuring them, that they had nothing to do with the 
law ; that they were to find the bare fact, and not 
concern themselves about the legal inferences drawn 
from it, or the degree of the defendant's guilt. Thus 
far you were consistent with your former practice. 
Bui how will you account for the conclusion C You 
told the jury, that " if, after all, they would take 
upon themselves to determine the law, they might do 
it, but they must be very sure that they determined 
according to law ; for it touched their consciences, 
and they acted at their peril." If I understand your 
first proposition, you mean to affirm, that the jury 
were not competent judges of the law in the criminal 
case of a libel; that it did not fall within fAeiV juris- 
diction ; and that with respect to them, the malice or 
nmocence of the defendant's intentions would be a 
question coram non judice. But the second proposi- 
tion clears away your own difficulties, and restores the 
) u"y to all their judicial capacities.* You make the 
competence of the court to depend upon the legalitv 

* Directly the reverse of the doctrine he const;iiitly 
maintained in the house of lords, and elsewhere, upon the 
decision of the Middlesex election. He invariably asserted. 
that the decision must be legal because the court was coui 
vetent ; and never couJd be prevailed on to mttr farthei 
nio luf ([nestioi . 



JUNIUS'S 1 ETTElvS. 55 

nf the decision. In tlie first instance, you deny tlie 
power absolutely: in the second, you admit the power 
provided 't be legally exercised. Now, my lord, 
without pretending to reconcile the distinctions ol 
Westminster-hall with the simple information ofcoiu- 
mon sense, or the integrity of fair argument, I shall 
be understood by your lordship, when 1 assert, that, 
if a jury, or any other court of judicature, (for jurors 
are judges) h;;ve no right to enter into a cause or 
question of law, it signifies nothing whether their 
decisions be or be not according to lavi , Their de- 
cision is, in itself, a mere nullity ; the parties are not 
bound to submit to it; and, if the jury run any risk 
of punishment, it is not for pronouncing a corrupt or 
illegal verditt, but for the illegality of meddling with 
a point on whiih ihey have )io legal authority to 
decide.* 

I cannot qnU this subject without reminding your 
lordship of the name of Mr. Benson. Without ofl'er- 
ing any legal ()l)';t'cti'.ni, \i)U ordered a special juij- 
mati to be set aside, in a cause where the king was 
prosecutor. The novelty of the fact required expla- 
nation. Will you condescend to tell the world by 
what law or custom you were atithorised to make a 

* These iniquitous prosecutions cost the best of tmnces 
SIX thousand pounds, and ended in tiie total defeat and 
disgrace of the prosecutors. In the course of one of tiiem, 
ludge Aston had the unparalleled imj)udence to tell I\lr. 
Morris, a gentleman of unquestionable hoi our and integri- 
ty, and who was then giving his evide.ice on oath, that he 
should pay very little regard it am ajjidavit he should 
make. 



56 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Dereniptory challenge ol" a juryPian ? The partief, 
indeed, have this power ; ;nu!, perhaps, 3 0iir lord- 
ship, having accustomed yourself to unite the charac- 
ters of judge and party, may claim it in virtue of tlie 
new capacity you have assuni-d, and profit by your 
own wrong. The time within which you might hav i 
been punished for this daring attempt to pack a jury, 
is, I fear, elapsed ; but no length of time shall erase 
the record of it. 

The mischiefs you have done this country are not 
confined to your interpretation of the laws. You are 
a minister, my lord ; and, as such, have long been 
consulted. Let us candidly examine what use you 
have made of your ministerial influence. I will not 
descend to little matters, but come at once to those 
iniportant points on which your resolution was waited 
for, on which the expectation of your opinion kepi 
a great part of the nation in suspense. A constitu- 
tional question arises upon a declaration of tlie law 
of parliament, by which the freedom of election, and 
he birthright of the subject, were supposed to have 
jeen invaded. The king's servants are accused of 
violating the constitution. The nation is in a fer- 
ment. The ablest men of all parties engage in tht 
question, and exert their utmost abilities in the dis- 
cussion of it. What part has the honest lord Mans- 
field acted.'' As an eminent judge of the law, his 
opinion would have been respected. As a peer, ne 
had a right to demand an audience of his sovereign, 
and inform him, that his ministers were pursuing un- 
constitutional measures. Upon other occasions, my 
lord, you have no difficulty in finding your way into 
the closet. The pretended neutrality of belonging 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 57 

.o no party will not save your reputation. In a ques- 
tion merely political, an honest man ma}- stand 
neuter. But the laws and constitution are the gene- 
ral property of the subject : not to defend, is to re- 
linquish : and who is there so senseless as to renounce 
tiis share m a common benefit, unless he hopes to 
profit by a new division of the spoil ? As a lord of 
parliament, you were repeatedly called upon to con- 
demn or defend the new law declared by the house ol 
commons. You affected to have scruples, and every 
expedient was attempted to remove them. The ques- 
tion was proposed and urged to you in a thousand 
different shapes. Your prudence still supplied you 
with evasion j your resolution was invincible. For 
my own part, I am not anxious to penetrate this 
solemn secret. I care not to whose wisdom it is en- 
trusted, nor how soon you carry it with you to the 
grave.* You have betrayed your opinion by the 
very care you have taken to conceal it. It is not 
from lord Mansfield that we expect any reserve in 
declaring his real sentiments in favour of government, 
or in opposition (o the people ; nor is it difficult to 
account for the motions of a timid, dishonest heart, 
which neither has virtue enongh to acknowledge 
truth, or courage to contradict it. Yet you continue 
to support an administration which you know is uni- 
versally odious, and which, on some occasions, you 
yourself speak of with contempt. You would fain 

* He said, in the house of lords, that he believed he 
shoulrl carry his opinion with him to the grave. It was 
afterwards reported, that he had entrusted it in special con 
tideace to the ingenuous duke of Cumberland. 
C 2 



£8 JUNIUS'^ LETTERS. 

be iliou^ht to take no share in government, while, jr. 
r<»aliiy, vou are the main spring of the machine 
Here, too, we trace the litde, prudential policy of a 
Scotchman. Instead of acting that open, generous 
part which becomes your rank ajid station, you mean- 
ly sculk into tlie closet, and give your sovereign such 
advice as you have not spirit to avow or defend. 
You secretly engross the power, while you decliiu; 
the title of a tninisier, and though you dare not be 
chancellor, you know tiow to secure the emoluments 
of the office. Are the seals to be for ever in commis- 
sion, that you may enjoy five thousand pounds a 
year? I beg pardon, my lord; your fears have in- 
terposed at last, and forced you to resign. Tlie 
odium of coniinuiiig speaker of the house of lords, 
upon such terms, was too formidable to be resisted. 
What a multitude of bad passions are forced to sub- 
mit to a constitutional infirmity ! But though you 
have relinquished the salary, you still assume the 
rights of a minister. Your conduct, it seems, must 
be defended in parliament. For what other purpose 
is your wretched friend, that miserable serjeant, posted 
to the house of commons.'' Is it in the abilities of a 
Mr. Leigh to defend the great lord Mansfield .'' Or is 
he only the punch of the puppet-shew, to speak as he is 
prompted by the chief juggler behind the curtain ?* 
In public affairs, my lord, cunning, let it be ever so 
well wrought, will not conduct a man honourably 
throiiiih life. Like bad money, it maybe current for 

* Th« paragraph gagged poor Leigh. I am really con- 
cerned for the man, and wish it were possible to open hii 
mouth. H? is a very pretty orator. 



JUNILS'S LETTERS. 6a 

a time, but it will soon be cried down. It cannot 
consist with a liberal spirit, though it be sometimes 
united with extraordinary qualifications. When I 
acknowledge your abilities, you may believe I am 
sincere. I feel for human nature, when I see a man, 
so gifted as you are, descend to such vile practices. 
Yet do not suffer your vanity to console you too soon. 
Believe me, my good lord, you are not admired in 
the same degree in which you are aetested. It is 
only the partiality of your friends that balances the 
defects of your heart with the superiority of your un- 
derstanding. No learned man, even among your 
own tribe, thinks you qualified to preside in a court 
of common law : yet it is confessed, that, under Jus- 
tinian, you might have made an incomparable prcBtor. 
\i is remarkable enough, but I hope not ominous, that 
the laws you understand best, and the judges you affect 
to admire most, flourished in the decline of a great 
empire, and are supposed to have contributed to its fall. 
Here, my lord, it may be proper for us to pause 
together. It is not for my own sake that I wish you 
to consider the delicacy of your situation. Beware 
how you indulge the first emotions of your resent- 
ment. This paper is delivered to the world, and can- 
oot be recalled. The prosecution of an 'nnocent print- 
er cannot alter facts, nor refute arguments. Do not 
furnish me with farther materials against yourself. 
An honest man, like the true religion, appeals to (he 
understanding, or modestly confides in the internal 
evidence of his conscience. The impostor employs 
'brcc .'nstead of argument, imposes silence where he 
cannot convince, and propagates his character by the 
Bword. JUNrUS. 



fO JUNTIJS'S I.ETTE11& 



XLII. 

2*0 the Printer of the Public Advertiser 

SIR, January 30, 1771 

If we recollect in what manner the king's friends 
have been constantly employed, we shall have no rea- 
son to be surprised at any condition of disgrace tc 
which the once respected name of Englishmen may 
be degraded. His majesty has no cares, but such as 
concern the laws and constitution of this country 
III his royal breast there is no room left for resent- 
ment, no place for hostile sentiments against the 
natural enemies of his crown. The system of govern- 
ment is uniform : violence and oppression at home 
can only be supported by treachery and submission 
abroad. When the civil rights of the people are 
daringly invaded on one side, what have we to ex- 
pect, but that their political rights should be deserted 
and betrayed, in the same proportion, on the other ?, 
Tlie plan of domestic policy which has been invaria- 
bly pursued from the moment of h'S present majesty's 
accession, engrosses all the attention of his servants. 
They know that the security of their places depends 
upon their maintaining, at any hazard, the secret sys- 
tem of the closet. A foreign war might embarrass 
an unfavourable event might ruin, the minister, and 
defeat the deep-laid scheme of policy to which he and 
liis associates owe their employments. Rather than 
»uffer the execution of hat scheme to be delayed or 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 61 

Itterrupted, the king has been advised to m-.^^ a 
public surrender, a solemn sacrifice, in the face of al! 
Europe, not only of tlie interests of his subjects, but 
of his own personal reputation, and of the dignity ol 
that crown which his predecessors have worn with 
honour. These are strong terms, sir, but they are 
supported by fact and argument. 

The king of Great Britain has been for some years 
in possession of an island, to which, as the ministry 
themselves have repeatedly asserted, the Spaiuards 
had no claim of right. The importance of the place 
<s not in question : if it were, a better judgment might 
be formed of it, from the opinion of lord A ns-jn and 
lord Egmont, and from the anxiety of the Sp.-niards, 
'han from any fallacious insinuations thrown out by 
a)en, whose interest it is to undervalue that property 
ivhich they are determined to relinquish. Tne pre- 
xensions of Spain were a subject of negotiation be- 
cween the two courts. They had been discussed, l)ul 
not admitted. The king of Spain, in these circum- 
stances, bids adieu to amicable negotiation, anil ap- 
peals directly to the sword. The expedition against 
Port Egmont does not appear to have been a sudden, 
ill-concerted enterprise : it seems to have been con- 
ducted not only wuh the usual military precautions, 
but in all the forms and ceremonies of war. A frigate 
was first employed, to examine the strength of the 
place. A message was then sent, demanding imme- 
diate possession, in the Catholic king's name, and 
ordering our people to depart. At last, a military 
force appears, and compels the garrison to surrender. 
A formal capitulation ensues ; and his majesty's ship, 
which might at least have been permitted to bring 



62 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

home his troops immediately, is detained in per 
twenty days, and her rudder forcibly taken away 
This train of fads carries no appearance of the rash 
ness or violence of a Spanish governor : on the con- 
trary, the whole plan seems to have been formed and 
executed, in consequence of deliberate orders, and a 
regular instruction, from the Spanish court. Mr. 
Buccarelli is not a pirate, nor has he been treated as 
such by those who employed him. I feel for the 
honour of a gentleman, when I affirm, that our king 
owes him a signal reparation. Where will the hu- 
miliation of this country end ? A king of Great Bri- 
tain, not contented witli placing himself upon a level 
with a Spanish governor, descends so low as to do a 
notorious injustice to that governor. As a salvo for 
his own reputation, he lias been advised to traduce the 
character of a brave ofikei-, and to treat him as a 
common robber, when he knew, with certainty, thai 
Mr. Buccarelli had acted in obedience to his orders, 
and had done no more tlian his duty. Thus it hap- 
pens, in private life, with a man who has no spirit 
nor sense of honour. One of his equals orders a ser- 
vant to strike him : instead of returning the blow to 
the master, his courage is contented with throwing an 
aspersion, equally false and public^ upon the charac- 
ter of the servant. 

This short recapitulation was necessary to intro- 
duce the consideration of his majesty's speech of the 
I3th of November, 1770, and the subsequent measures 
of government. The excessive caution with which 
the speech was drawn up, had inipressed upon me an 
early conviction, that no serious resentment was 
thought of, and that the condusioi of the business. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 63 

whenever it I appened must, in some degree, be dis 
honourable to England. There appears, through 
the whole speech, a guard and reserve in the choice 
of expression, which shows how careful the n»inistry 
were not to embarrass their future projects by any 
firm or spirited declaration from the throne. Vv hen 
all hopes of peace are lost, his majesty tells his par- 
liament, that he is preparing, not for barbarous war, 
but (with all his mother's softness) /or a different situ- 
ation. An open hostility, authorised by the Catholic 
king, is called an act of a governor. This act, to 
avoid the mention of a regular siege and surrender, 
passes under the piratical description of seizing by 
force ; and the thing takeii is described, not as a part 
of the king's territory, or proper dominion, but mere- 
ly as a possession ; a word expressly chosen in con- 
tradistinction to, and exclusion of, the ideas o( right, 
and to prepare us for a future surrender both of the 
right and of the possession. Yet tiiis speech, sir, 
cautious and equivocal as it is, cannot, by any 
sophistry, be accommodated to the measures whicii 
have since been adopted. It seemed to promise, that, 
whatever might he given up by secret stipulation, 
some care would be taken to save appearances to the 
public. The event shows us, that to depart, in the 
minutest article, from the nicety and strictness ol 
punctilio, is as dangerous to national honour as to 
female virtue. The woman who admits of one fami- 
liarity seldom knows where to stop, or what to refuse; 
and, when the counsels of a great country give way 
in a single instance, when they once are inclined to 
submission, every step accelerates the rapidity of the. 
descent. The ministry themselves, when the}' framed 



64 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

the sptecli, did not foresee tlial they shonld ever ac 
cede to such an accommodation as they have since 
advised their master to accept of. 

The king says, " The honour of my crown^ and 
the rights of my people, are deeply aflected." The 
Spaniard, in his reply, says, " I will give you back 
possession, but 1 adhere to my claim of prior right, 
reserving the assertion of it for a more favourable 
opportunity." 

The speech says, " I made an immediate demand 
of satisfaction; and, if that fails, I am prepared to do 
myself justice." This immediate demand must have 
been sent to Madrid on the 12th of September, or in 
a few days after. It was certainly refused, or evaded, 
and the king has not done himself justice. When the 
first magistrate speaks to the nation, some care should 
be taken of his apparent veracity. 

The speech proceeds to say, " 1 shall not discon- 
tinue my preparations until I have received proper 
reparation for the injury." If this assurance may be 
relied on, what an enormous expense is entailed sine 
die upon this unhappy country ! Restitution of a 
possession, and reparation of an injury, are as diffe- 
rent in substance as they are in language. The very 
act of restitution may contain, as in this instance it 
palpably does, a shameful aggravation of tiie injury. 
A man of spirit does not measure the degree of ai? 
injury by the mere positive damage he has sustained 
ne considers the principle on which it is founded ; he 
resents the superiority asserted i)ver him ; and re- 
jects, w'th indignation, the claim of right which his 
adversary endeavours to establish and would forci" 
him to acknowledge. 



JUNIUS'b LETTERS. 65 

The motives on which the Catholic kin^.^ iiinkp'? 
restitution, are, if possible, more insolent and dis- 
graceful to our sovereign, than even the declaratory 
condition annexed to it. After taking four months 
to consider whether the expedition was undertaken by 
his own orders or not, he condescends to disavow the 
enterprise, and to restore the island ; not from any 
regard to justice, not from any regard he bears to his 
I2rii;innic majesty, but merely " from the persuasion 
ill u liich he is of the pacific sentiments of the king o' 
Great Britain." 

At this rate, if our king iiad discovered the spirit of 
a man; if he had made a peremptory demand ofsatis- 
fiiction, the king of Spain would have given him a 
peremptory refusal. But why this unseasonable, this 
ridiculous mention of the king of Great Britain's pa- 
cific intentions .'* Have tliey ever been in question .'' 
VV;is he the aggressor.'' Does he attack foreign 
powers without provocation ? Does he even resist, 
when he is insulted.'' No, sir : if any ideas of strife 
or hostility have entered his royal mind, the^ " ve a 
very diflerent direction. Tlie enemies of England 
have nothing to fear from them. 

After all, sir, to what kind of disavowal has the 
king of Spain at last consented.-* Supposing it made 
ni proper time, it should have been accompanied wit!) 
instant restitution; and ilMr. Buccarelli acted witli- 
nut orders, he deserved death. Now, sir, instead oi 
immediate restitution, we have a four months' nego- 
tiation ; and the ofllcer, whose act is disavowed, re- 
turns to court, and is loaded with honours. 

If the actual situation of Europe be considered, the 
trearliery of the king's servants, particularly of lore' 



66 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Norili, who takes the whole upon himself, will appear 
in tiie strongest colours of aggravation. Our allies 
were masters of the Mediterranean. The king ol 
France's present aversion from war, and the distrac- 
tion of his affairs, are notorious. He is now in a 
state of war with his people. In vain did the Catho- 
lic king solicit him to take part in the quarrel against 
us. His finances were in the last disorder ; and it 
was probable that his troops might find sufiicient 
employment at home. In these circumstances, we 
might have dictated the law to Spain. There are no 
terms to which she might noi liave been compelled to 
submit. At the worst, a war whh Spain alone car- 
ries the fairest promise of advantage. One good 
effect, at least, would have been immediately produ- 
ced by it. The desertion of France would have irri • 
tated her ally, and, in all probability, have dissolved 
the family compact. The scene is now fatally changed. 
The advantage is thrown away. The most favoura- 
ble opportunity is lost. Hereafter we shall know the 
vaku ol' it. When the French king is reconciled to 
his subjects — when Spain has completed her prepa- 
rations — when the collected strength of the house of 
Bourbon attacks us at once, the king himself will be 
able to determine upon the wisdom or impudence of 
his present conduct.' As far as the probability of 
argument extends, we may safely pronounce, that a 
conjuncture, which threatens the very being of this 
country, has been wilfully prepared and An'warded b) 
our own ministry. How far the people may be ani 
mated to resistance, undeic the present administration 
I know not; but this I know, with certainty, that, 
under the present administration, o • if any thing like 



JUNIUS'S LETT fc: Kb. 07 

t should continue, it is of very little moment whcdiet 
vve are a conquered nation or not.* 

Having travelled thus far in the high road of mat- 
ter of fact, I may now be permitted to wander a little 
into the field of imagination. Let us banish from our 
minds the persuasion that these events have really 
happened in the reign of the best of princes; let ui 
consider them as nothing more than the materials ol 
a fable, in which we may conceive the sovereign o( 
some other country to be concerned. I mean to vio- 
late all the laws of probability, when I suppose that 
this imaginary king, after having voluntarily dis- 
graced himself in the eyes of his subjects, might re- 
turn to a sense of his dishonour ; that he might per- 
ceive the snare laid for him by his ministers, and feel 



* The king's acceptance of the Spanish amljussador's de- 
claration is drawn up in barbarous Fri^ncli, and signed by 
the earl of Rocliford. This diplomatic lord lias spent his 
life in the study and practice of etir/iiettfx, and is supposed 
to be a profound master of the ceremonies. I will not in- 
sult him by any reference to grammar or common sense : if 
he were even acquainted with the common forms of his of- 
fice, I should think liiin as well qualified for it as any man 
in his majesty's service. The reader is requested to observe 
lord Rochford's method of authenticating a public instru- 
ment. — " En foi de quoi, moi soussignt?, un des principaux 
secretaires d'etat S. M. B, ai signe la presente de ma signa- 
t ire ordinaire, et celle fait apposer le cachet de nos armes." 
In three lines there are no less tiian seven false concords. 
Cnt the man does not even know tiie style of his office. 1/ 
he had known it, he would have said, " Nous, siussigm 
secretaire d'etat de S. M. B. avons signe," &c. 



68 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

a spark of shame kindling in his breast. The par 
he must then be obliged to act would overwhelm hirr 
with confusion. To his parliament he must say, " ] 
called you together to receive your advice, and have 
never asked your opinion." — To the merchant, " 1 
have distressed your commerce; I have dragged 
your seamen out of your ships; I have loaded yon 
with a grievous weight of insurances." — To the land- 
holder, " I told you war was too probable, when I was 
determined to submit to any terms of accommodation: 
I extorted new taxes from you before it was possible 
they could be wanted, and am now unable to account 
for the application of them." — To the public cr.editor, 
" I have delivered up your fortune a prey to foreign- 
ers, and to the vilest of your fellow subjects." Per- 
haps, this repenting prince might conclude with one 
general acknowledgment to them all : " I have in 
volved every rank of my subjects in anxiety and dis- 
tress ; and have nothing to offer you, in return, but 
the certainty of national dishonour, an armed truce, 
and peace without security." 

If these accounts were settled, there would still 
remain an apology to be made to his navy and to his 
army. To the first he would say, " You were once 
I lie terror of the world. But go back to your har- 
l)()iirs. A man, dishonoured as I am, has no use for 
\ our service." It is not probable that he would ap- 
pear again before his soMiers, even in the pacific 
ceremony of a review.* But, wherever he appeared, 
the humiliating confession would be extorted from 

* A mistake : he appears before them every day, with a 
mark of a blow upon liis facp. Proh pudur/ 



JLNIUS'S LETTERS. ea 

him,---" 1 have received a blow, and had .lot spirit 
to resent it. I demanded satisfaction, and have ac- 
cepted a declaration, in which the right to strike me 
again is asserted and confirmed." His countenance, 
at least, would speak this language, and even his 
guards would blush for him. 

But to return to our argument. The ministry, .t 
seems, are labouring to draw a line of distinction be- 
tween the honour of the crown and the rights of the 
people. This new idea has yet only been started in 
discourse; for, in effect, both objects have been equally 
sacrificed. I neither understand the distinction, nor 
what use the ministry propose to make of it. The 
king's honour is that of his people. Their real hon- 
our and real interest are the same. I am not con- 
tending for a vain punctilio. A clear, unblemished 
character comprehends not only the integrity that 
•vill not offer, but the spirit that will not submit to an 
mjury; and, whetlier it belongs to an individual or 
to a community, it is the foundation of peace, of in- 
dependence, and of safety. Private credit is wealth ; 
public honour is security. The feather that adorns 
the royal bird supports his flight. Strip him of bis 
plumage, and you fix him to the earth. 

JUNIUS. 



70 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 



XLIII. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, February 6, 1771. 

I hope your correspondent, Junius, is better em- 
ployed than in answering or reading the criticisms ol 
a newspaper. This is a task, from which, if he were 
inclined to submit to it, his friends ought to relieve 
him. Upon this principle, I shall undertake to an- 
swer Anti-Junius, more, I believe, to his conviction, 
than to his satisfaction. Not daring to attack the 
main body of Junius's last letter, he triumphs in hav- 
ng, as he thinks, surprised an out-post, and cut off a 
detached argument, a mere straggling proposition. 
But even in this petty warfare he shall find himself 
defeated. 

Junius does not speak of the Spanish nation as the 
natural enemies of England ; he applies that descrip- 
tion, with the strictest truth and justice, to the Span- 
ish court. From the moment when a prince of the 
house of Bourbon ascended that throne, their whole 
system of government was inverted, and became hos- 
tile to this country. Unity of possession introduced 
a unity of politics ; and Louis the Fourteenth had 
reason, when he said to his grandson, " The Pyrenees 
are remo-ved." The history of the present century 
IS one continued confirmation of the prophecy. 

The assertion, " That violence and oppression at 
home can only be supported by treachery and sub- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 71 

mission abroad," is applied to a free people, whose 
rights are inA aded, not to the government of a coun- 
try, where despotic or absolute power is confessedly 
vested in the prince ; and, with this application, the 
assertion is true. An absolute monarch, having no 
points to carry at home, will naturally maintain the 
honour of his crown in ail his transactions with 
foreign powers. But, if we could suppose the sove- 
reign of a free nation possessed with a design to make 
himself absolute, he would be inconsistent with him- 
self, if he suffered his projects to be interrupted or 
embarrassed by a foreign war, unless that war tended, 
piS in some cases it might, to promote his principal 
(Wsign. Of the three exceptions to this general rule 
of conduct, (quoted by Anti-Junius,) that of Oliver 
Cromwell is the only one in point. Harry the Eighth, 
by the submission of his parliament, was as absolute 
a prince as Louis the Fourteenth. Queen Elizabeth's 
government was not oppressive to the people, and as 
\o her foreign wars, it ought to be considered, that 
they were unavoidable. The national honour was 
not in question : she was compelled to fight in defence 
of her own person, and ol her title to the crown. In 
the common cause of selfish policy, Oliver Cromwell 
should have cultivated the friendship of foreign pow- 
ers, or, at least, have avoided disputes with them, the 
better to establish his tyranny at home. Had he 
been only a bad man, he would have sacrificed the 
honour of the nation to the success of his domestic 
policy. But, with all his crimes, he had the spirit of 
an Englishman. The coi>duct of such a man must 
always be an exception to vulgar rules. He had 
abilities sufficient to reconcile contradictions, and to 



72 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

make a great nation, at the same moment, unhappy 
and formidable. If it were not for the respect I beai 
the minister, I could name <i man, who, without one 
gram of understanding, can do half as much as 
Oliver Cromwell. 

VV^hether or no there be a secret system in the 
closet, and what may be the object of it, are questions 
which can only be determined by appearances, and 
on which every man must decide for himself. 

The whole plan of Junius's letter proves, that he 
himself makes no distinction between the real honoui 
of the crown and the real interest of the people. In 
the climax to which your correspondent objects, Ju- 
nius adopts the language of the court, and, by that 
conformity, gives strength to his argument. He says 
that " the king has not only sacrificed the interest 
of his people, but (what was likely to touch him more 
nearly) his personal reputation, and the dignity of his 
crown." 

The queries put by Anti-Junius can only be an- 
swered by the ministry. Abandoned as they are, I 
fancy they will not confess, that they have, for so 
many years, maintained possession of another man's 
property. After admitting the assertion of the minis- 
tiy, viz. " That the Spaniards had no rightful 
claim," and after justifymg them for saying so, it is 
his business, not mine, to give us some good reason 
for their " suffering the preteotions of Spain to be a 
subject of negotiation." He admits the facts ; let 
him reconcile them if he can. 

The last paragraph brings us back to the original 
question, Whether the Spanish declaration contains 
such a satisfaction as the king of Great Britain ough 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 73 

to have accepted ? This was the field upon which he 
ought to have encountered Junius openly and fairly. 
But here he leaves the argument, as no longer de- 
fensible. I siiall, therefore, conclude with one gen- 
eral admonition to my fellow subjects ; that, when 
Uiey hear these matters debated, they should not suf 
fer tliemselves to be misled by general declamations 
upon the conveniences of peace, or the miseries ol 
war. Between peace and war abstractedly, there is 
not, there cannot, be a question, in the mind of a 
rational being. The real questions are, " Have we 
any security that the peace we have so dearly pur- 
chased will last a twelvemonth .f"' and if not, " Hnve 
we, or have we not, sacrificed the fairest opportunity 
o{ making war with advantage .'"' 

PHILO JUNIUS 



XLIV. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, April 22, 1771. 

To write for profit, without taxing the press ; to 
A'rite for fame, and to be unknown ; to support the 
intrigues of faction, and to be disowned as a danger- 
ous auxiliary by every party in the kingdom, are 
contradictions which the minister must reconcile be- 
fore I forfeit my credit vvitli the public. 1 may quit 
the service, but it would be absurd to suspect me o| 
desertion. The reputation of these papers is an hon- 
ourable pledge for my attachment to the people. Tr 

VOL. II. D 



74 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

sacrifice a respected character, ard to renounce the 
esteem of society, requires more than Mr. Wedder- 
burne's resolution ; and though in him it was rather 
a profession than a desertion of his principles, (1 
speak tenderly of this gentleman ; for, wlien treache- 
ry is in question, 1 think we should make allowances 
for a Scotchman) yet we have seen him in the house 
«f commons overwhelmed with confusion, and almost 
bereft of his faculties. But, in truth, sir, I have left 
no room for an accommodation with the piety of St. 
James's. My offences are not to be redeemed by re- 
cantation or repentance. On one side, our warmest 
patriots would disclaim me as a burthen to their hon- 
est ambition. On the other, the vilest prostitution, 
if Junius could liescend to it, would lose its natural 
merit and influence in the cabinet, and treachery be 
no longer a recommendation to the royal favour. 

The persons, who, till within these few years, have 
been most distinguished by their zeal for high-church 
and prerogative, are now, it seems, the great asser- 
tors of the privileges of the house of commons. This 
sudden alteration of their sentiments or language, 
carries with it a suspicious appearance. When I 
hear the undefined privileges of the popular branch 
of the legislature exalted by tories and jacoljites, at 
the expense of those strict rights which are known to 
liie subject and limited by the laws, I 'umnot but sus- 
pect that some mischievous scheme is in agitation, to 
destroy both law and privilege, by opposing them to 
each other. They who have uniformly denied the 
power of the whole legislature to alter the descent of 
he croM'n, and whose ancestors, in rebellion against 
liis nnjesty's fimily, have defended that doctrine ai 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 75 

he hazard of their lives, now tell us, that privilege 
of parliament is the only rule of right, and the chief 
security of the public freedom. [ fear, sir, that, 
while forms remain, there has been some material 
change in the substance of our constitution. The 
opinions of these men were too absurd to be so easi 
ly renounced. Liberal minds are open to convic- 
tion; liberal doctrines are capable of improvement. 
There are proselytes from atheism, but none from 
superstition. If their present professions were sincere, 
I think they could not but be highly offended at see- 
ing a question concerning parliamentary privilege 
unnecessarily started at a season so unfavourable to 
the house of commons, and by so very mean and in- 
significant a person as the minor Onslow. They 
knew that the present house of commons, having 
connnenced hostilities with the people, and degraded 
the authority of the laws by their own example, were 
likely enough to be resisteil per fas et nefas. If they 
were really friends to privilege, they would have 
thought the question of right too dangerous to be 
hazarded at this season, and, without the formality 
of a convention, would have left it undecided. 

I have been silent hitherto, though not from that 
shameful indifference about the interests of society, 
which too many of us possess, and call moderation 
I confess, sir, that 1 felt the prejudices of my educa- 
tion in favour of a house of commons still hanging 
about Tie. 1 thought that a question betweer law 
and privilege could never be brought to a formal de- 
cision without inconvenience to the public service, or 
a manifest diminution of legal liberty ; that it ought, 
therefore, to be carefully avoided : and when I saw 



76 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

thai the vio ence of the liouse of commons had car- 
ried them too far to retreat, I determined not to de- 
liver a hasty opinion upon a matter of so much 
delicacy and importance. 

The state of things is much altered in this country 
since it was necessary to protect our representatives 
against the direct power of the crown. We Jiave 
nothing to apprehend from prerogative, but every 
thing from undue influence. Formerly, it was the 
interest of the people that the privileges of parliament 
should be left unlimited and undefined. At present, it 
is not only their interest, but I hold it to be essential 
ly necessary to the preservation of the constitution, 
that the privileges of parliament should be strictly 
ascertained, and confined within the narrowest bounds 
the nature of the institution will admit of. Upon the 
same principle on which 1 would have resisted pre- 
rogative in the last century, I now resist privilege. It 
is indifl'erent to me, whether the crown, by its own 
immediate act, imposes new, and dispenses with old 
laws, or whether the same arbitrary power produces 
the same efl!ects through the medium of the house ol 
commons. We trusted our representatives with privi- 
leges for their own defence and ours. We cannot 
hinder their desertion, but we can prevent their car- 
rying over their aims to the service of the enemy. 
It will be said that [ begin with endeavouring to re- 
duce the argument concerning privilege to a mere 
question of convenience ; that, I deny, at oi^e mo- 
ment, what I would allow at another ; and that, to 
resist the power of a prostituted house of commons 
may establish a precedent injurious to all future par- 
liaments. To tliis 1 answer, generally, that human 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 7? 

aflfairs are in no instance governed by strict positive 
riglit. ir change of circumstances were to have no 
weight in directing our conduct and opinions, the 
mutual intercourse of mankind would be nothing 
more than a contention between positive and equita- 
ble right. Society would be a state of war, and law 
itself would be injustice. On this general ground, it 
is highly reasonable, that the degree of our submis- 
sion to privileges which never have been defined by 
an}' positive law, should be considered as a question 
of convenience, and proportioned to the confidence 
we repose in the integrity of our representatives. As 
to the injury we may do to any future and more re- 
spectable house of commons, Town I am not now 
sanguine enough to expert a more plentiful harvest 
of parliamentary virtue in one year than in another. 
Our political climate is severely altered ; and. with- 
out dwelling upon the depravity of modern times, I 
think no reasonable man will expect that, as human 
nature is constituted, the enormous influence of the 
crown should cease to prevail over the virtue of indi- 
viduals. The mischief lies too deep to be cured by 
any remedy less than some great cpnvulsion, which 
may either carry back the constitution to its original 
principles, or utterly destroy it. I do not doubt that, 
m the first session after the next election, some popu- 
lar measures may be adopted. The present house of 
commons have injured themselves by a too early and 
public profession of their principles ; and if a strain 
of prostitution, which had no example, were within 
the reach of emulation, it might be imprudent to 
hazard the expenTneot too soon. But, after, all, sir 
f is very immatsrial whether a house of commons 



78 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

shall j»reserve their virtue for a week, a month, cr a 
year. The influence wliich makes a septennial par- 
liament dependent on the pleasure of the crown, has 
a permanent operation, and cannot fail of success 
My premises, I know, will be denied in argument ; 
but every man's conscience tells him they are true. 
It remains, then, to be considered, whether it be for 
the interest of the people, that privilege of parlia- 
ment* (which in respect to the purposes for which it 
has hitherto been acquiesced under, is merely nomi- 
nal) should be contracted within some certain limits ; 
or, whether the subject shall be left at the mercy of a 
power, arbitrary upon the face of it, and notoriously 
jnder the direction of the crown. 

I do not mean to decline the question of right ; on 
the contrary, sir, I join issue with the advocates for 
privilege, and affirm, that, " excepting the cases 
wherein the house of commons are a court of judica- 
ture (to which, from the nature of their office, a co- 
ercive power must belong) and excepting such con- 
tempts as immediately interrupt their proceedings 
they have no legal authority to imprison any man for 



* The necessity of securing the house of commons against 
the king's power, so that no interruption might be given 
either to the attendance of the members in parliament, or to 
the freedom of debate, was the foundation of parliamentary 
privilege ; and we may observe, in all the addresses of new 
appointed speakers to the sovereign, the utmost privilege 
they demand, is liberty of speech, and freedom from aiTests. 
The very word privilege means no more than immunity,, or 
a safeguard to the party who possesses it, and can never be 
construed into an active power of invading the riphts of others 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 79 

•ny supposed violation of "»rivilege whatsoever." h 
is not pretended that privilege, as now cldiined, lias 
ever been defined or confirmed by statute; neithei 
can it be said, with any colour of truth, to be a part 
of the common law of England, which had grown 
into prescription long before we knew any thing of 
the existence of a house of commons. As for the 
law of parliament, it is only another name for the 
privilege in question ; and since the poTer of ere* 
ating new privileges has been formally renounced by 
both houses, since there is no code in which we can 
study the law of parliament, we have but one way 
left to maii'j ourselves arqua'nted with it ; that is, to 
compare the nature of the institution of a house at' 
commons with tiie facts upon record. To establish a 
claim of privilege in either house, and to distinguish 
original right from usurpation, it must appear, thai 
it is indispensably mcessary for the performance of 
the duty they are employed in, and also that it ha« 
been uniformly allowed. From the first part of thiu 
description, it follows, clearly, that, whatever privi- 
lege does of right belong to the present house of com- 
mons, did equally belong to the first assembly of their 
predecessors, was so completely vested •in them, and 
might have been exercised in the same extent. From 
the second we must infer that privileges, which for 
several centuries were not only never allowed, but 
never even claimed by he house of commons, must 
b? founded upon usurpation. The constitutional du- 
ties of a house of commons are not very complicated 
nor mysterious. They are to propose or assent to 
wholesome laws, for the benefit of the nation. The^ 
are \o grant the necessary aids to the king ; petition 



BO JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

for the redress of grievances ; and prosecute treason 
or high crimes against the state. If unlimited privi- 
lege be necessary to the performance of these duties, 
we have reason to conclude, that, for many centuries 
after the institution of the house of commons, they 
were never performed. 1 am not bound to prove a 
negative ; but I appeal to the English history, when 1 
affirm, that, with the exceptions already stated, which 
yet I might safely relinquish, there is no precedent, 
from the year 1265, to the death of queen Elizabeth 
of the house of commons having imprisoned any 
man (not a member of their house) for contempt or 
breacli of privilege. In the most flagrant cases, and 
when their acknowledged privileges were most gross- 
ly violated, the poor commons, as they then styled 
themselves, never took the power of punishment into 
their own hands. They either sought redress, by 
petition to the king, or, what is more remarkable, 
applied for justice to the house of lords ; and, when 
satisfaction was denied them or delayed, their only 
remedy was to refuse proceeding upon the king's busi- 
ness. So little conception had our ancestors of the 
monstrous doctrines now maintained concerning privi- 
lege, that, in the reign of Elizabeth, even liberty of 
speech, the vital principle of a deliberative assembly, 
was restrained by the queen's authority to a simple 
ay or no ; and this restriction, though imposed upon 
three successive parliaments,* was never once disputed 
by the house of commons. 

I know there are many precedents of arbitrary 
commitments for contempt; but, besides that they ar« 

♦ In the years 1593, 1597, "^nd 1(501. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 81 

of too inode<ri a iats o warrant a presumption that 
such a power was originally vpsim,! in. t„e liouse of 
coniinons, fact alone does not constitute right. If it 
does, general warrants were lawful. An ordinance 
of the two houses has a force equal to law : and the 
criminal jurisdiction assumed by the commons in 
1421, m the case of Edward Lloyd, is a good pre- 
cedent to warrant the like proceedings against any 
man who shall unadvisedly mention the folly of a 
king, or the ambition of a princess. The truth is, 
sir, that the greatest and most exceptionable part of 
the privileges now contended for, were introduced and 
asserted by a house of commons, which abolished both 
monarchy and peerage, and whose proceedings, al- 
though they ended in one glorious act of substanti;il 
justice, could no way be reconciled to the forms of 
the constitution. Their successors profited by their 
example, and confirmed their power by a moderate 
or popular use of it. Thus it grew, by degrees, from 
a notorious innovation at one period, to be tacitly 
admitted as the privilege of parliament at another. 

If, however, it could be proved, from considera- 
tions of necessity or convenience, that an unlimited 
power of commitment ought to be entrusted to the 
nouse of commons, and that, in fact, they have ex- 
ercised it without opposition, still, in contemplation 
of law, the presumption is strongly against them. It 
is a leading maxim of the laws of England (and 
without it all laws are nugatory) that there is no right 
mthout a remedy, nor any legal power without a 
legal course to carry it into effect. Le» the power 
now in question, be tried by this rule. The speaker 
issues his warrant of attachment! The party :\V 
D 2 C 



82 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

tached either resists force with force, or appeals to a 
magistrate, who declares the warrant illegal, and dis- 
charges the prisoner. Does the law provide no lega 
means for enforcing a legal warrant ? Is there no re- 
gular proceeding pointed out in our law books, to 
assert and vindicate the authority of so high a court as 
the house of commons ? The question is answered 
directly by the fact; their unlawful commands are 
resisted, and they have no remedy. The imprison- 
ment of their own members is revenge indeed ; but it 
is no assertion of the privilege they contend for.* 
Their whole proceeding stops ; and there they stand, 
ashamed to retreat, and unable to advance. Sir. 
these ignorant men should be informed, that the ex- 
ecution of the laws of England is not left in this un- 
certain, defenceless condition. If tiie process of the 
courts of ^Vestminster-hall be resisted, they have a 
direct course to enforce submission. The court ol 
king's bench commands tiie sheriff to raise the posse 
comitatus ; the courts of chancery and exchequer is- 
sue a writ of rebellion ; which must also be support- 
ed, if necessary, by the power of the country. To 
whom will our honest representatives direct their writ 
of rebellion ^ The guards, I doubt not, are willing 
enough to be employed ; but thty know nothing o\ 



* Upon their own pnnciples, they should have commit- 
ted Mr. Wilkes, who had been guilty of a greater oflVure 
than even the lord mayor or alderman Oliver. But, af'tcr 
repeatedly ordering him to attend, they at last adjourned 
beyond the day appointed for his attendance, and, by thif 
mean, pitiful evasion, gave up th^ point. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. S3 

the doctrine of writs, and may think it necessai}' to 
W'ait for a letter from lord Barrington. 

It may now be objected to me, that my argument? 
prove too much : for that c«riainly there may be in- 
stances of contempt and insult to the house of com- 
mons, which do not fall within my own exceptions, 
yet, in regard to the dignity of the house, ought not 
to pass unpunished. Be it so. The courts of crimi- 
nal jurisdiction are open to prosecutions, which the 
attorney-general may commence by information or 
indictment. A libel tending to asperse or vilify the 
house of commons, or any of their members, may 
be as severely punished in the court of king's bench, 
as a libel upon the king. M. de Grey thought so, 
when he drew up the information of my letter to his 
majesty, or he had no meaning in charging it to be 
a scandalous libel upon the house of commons. In 
my opinion, they would consult their real dignity 
much better, by appealing to the laws, when they are 
offended, than by violating the first principle of natu- 
ral justice, which forbids us to be judges, when we 
are parties to the cause.* 



* " If it be demanded, in case a subject should be com- 
mitted by either house foi- a matter manifestly out of their 
jurisdiction, What remedy can he have ? I answer, that it 
cannot well be imagined that the law, wliich favours no- 
thing more than the liberty of the subject, should give us a 
remedy against commitments I)y the king himself, appearing 
to be illegal, and yet give us no manner of redress against 
a commitment by our fellow subjects, equally appearing to 
oe unwarranted. But, as this is a case which I am persuad 



84 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

I do not mean to pursue them tlirough the remaiW' 
der of tlieir proceedings. In their first resohitions. 
it is possible they might have been deceived by ill- 
considered precedents. For the rest, there is no co- 
lour of palliation or excuse They have advised the 
king to resume a power of dispensing with the laws 
by royal proclamation ;* and kings, we see, are ready 
enough to follow such advice. By mere violence, 
and without the shadow of right, they have expunged 
the record of a judicial proceeding.t Nothing re- 
mained but to attribute to their own vote a power ol 
stopping the whole distribution of criminal and civil 
justice. 

The public virtues of the chief magistrate have 
long since ceased to be in question. But, it is said, 
that he has private good qualities; and 1 myself have 
been ready to acknowledge them. They are now 

ed, will never happen, it seems needless over-nicely to ex 
amine it." Hawkins, ii. 110. 

N. B. He was a good lawyer, but no prophet. 

* That their practice might be every way conformable to 
their principles, the house proceeded to advise the crown to 
publish a proclamation, universally acknowledged to be il- 
legal. Mr. Moreton publicly protested against it before it 
was issued ; and lord Mansfield, though not scrupulous to 
an extreme, speaks of it with horror. It is remarkable 
enough, that the very men who advised the proclamation, 
and who hear it arraigned every day, both within doors and 
without, are not daring enough to utter one word in its de- 
fence ; nor have they ventured to take the least notice of Mr 
Wilkes, for the discharging the persons apprehended under it 

t Lord Chatham very properly called this the act of a 
mnb, not of a senate. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 8b 

brought to tlie test. If lie loves his people, he will 
dissolve the parliament, which they can never confide 
in or respect. If he has any regard for his own hon- 
our, he will disdain to be any longer connected with 
such abandoned prostitution. But, if it were con- 
ceivable, that a king of this country had lost all sense 
of personal honour, and all concern for the welfare 
of his subjects, I confess, sir, I should be contented 
to renounce the forms of the constitution once more, 
if there were no other way to obtain substantial jus- 
tice for the people.t 

JUNIUS. 



t When Mr. Wilkes was to be punished, they made no 
scruple about the privileges of parliament ; and although it 
was as well known as any matter of public record and un- 
interrupted custom could be, " That the members of eithei 
house are privileged, except in case of treason, felony, or 
breach of peace," they declared, without hesitation, " That 
privilege of parliament did not extend to the case of a sedi- 
tious libel :" and undoubtedly they would have done the 
same if Mr. Wilkes had been prosecuted for any other mis- 
demeanor whatsoever. The ministry, are, of a sudden, 
grown wonderfully careful of privileges, which their prede- 
cessors were as ready to invade. The known laws of the 
land, the rights of the subject, the sanctity of charters, and 
the reverence due to our magistrates, nuist .ill give way, 
without question or resistance, to a orivilege of wiiich no 
man knows either the origin or the extent. The house o. 
commons judge of their own privileges without appeal • 
they may take offence at the most innocent action, and in«- 
prison the person who offends them during their arbitrary 
will and pleasure. The party has no remedy ; he cannot 
tppeal from their jurisdiction : and if b' questions the pri- 



P6 JUNIUS'S LETTKRg 



XLV. 

To thi Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, May 1, 1771- 

They who object to detached parts of Junius's last 
letter, either do not mean him fairly, or have not con- 
sidered the general scope and course of his argument. 
Tiiere are degrees in all the private vices ; why not 
in public prostitution ? The influence of the crown 
naturally makes a septennial parliament dependent. 
Does it follow, that every house of commons will 
plunge at once into the lowest depths of prostitution ? 
Jiuiius supposes, that the present house of commons, 
ill going such enormous lengths, have been impru- 
dent to themselves, as well as wicked to the public ; 
ihat their example is not within the reach of emula- 
tion ; and that, in the first session after the next elec- 
tion, some popular measures may probably be adopt- 
ed. He does not expect that a dissolution of parlia- 
ment will destroy corruption, but that, at least, it 
will be a check and terror to iheJr successors, who 



vilege which he is supposed to have violated, it becomes at 
aggravation of his offence. Surely this doctrine is not to be 
found in Magna Charta. If it be admitted without liniita- 
tion, I affirm, that there is neither law nor liberty in this 
kingdom. We are the slaves of the house of commons j 
and, through them, we are the slaves of the king and his 
ministers. Anonymous. 



JIJNIUS'S LETTERS. 87 

will have seen, that, in flagrant cases, their constitu- 
ents can and will interpose with effect. After all, sir, 
will you not endeavour to remove or alleviate the most 
dangerous symptoms, because you cannot eradicate 
the disease ? Will you not punish treason or parri- 
cide, because the sight of a gibbet does not prevent 
high-way robberies .f* When the main argument of 
Junius is admitted to be unanswerable, I think it 
would become the minor critic, who hunts for blem- 
ishes, to be little more distrustful of his own ?agacity. 
The other objection is hardly worth an answer. 
When Junius observes, that kings are ready enough 
to follow such advice, he does not mean to insinuate, 
that, if the advice of parliament were good, the 
king would be so ready to follow it. 

PHILO JUMUS. 



XL VI. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, May 25, J 771- 

I confess my partiality to Junius, and feel a con- 
siderable pleasure in being able to communicate any 
thing to the public in support of his opinions. The 
doctrine laid down in his last letter, concerning the 
power of the house ff commons to commit for con- 
tempt, is not so new as it appeared to many people ; 
»vho daxzled with the nnme of privilege, had never 
suffered themselves to examine the question fairly. 
In the course of m} reading this morning, I met with 



88 JUJNIUS'S LETTERS. 

the following passage in the journals of the house o 
commons, (Vol. i. p. 603.) Upon occasion of ajc- 
risdictiou unlawfully assumed by the house in the year 
1621, Mr. attorney-general Noye gave his opinion 
as follows : " No doubt but in some cases, this house 
may give judgment, in matters of returns, and con- 
cerning members of our house, or falling out in our 
view in parliament ; but, for foreign matters, know- 
eth not how we can judge it; knoweth not that we 
have been used to give judgment in any case, but 
those before mentioned." 

Sir Edward Coke, upon the same subject, says, 
(page 604,) " No question but this is a house of re- 
cord, and that it hath power of judicature in some 
cases ; have power to judge of returns and members 
of our house. One, no member, offending out ot 
the parliament, when he came hither, and justified it^ 
was censured for it." 

Now, sir, if you will compare the opinion of these 
great sages of the law with Junius's doctrine, you 
will find they tally exactly. He allows the power of 
the house to commit their own members, which, how- 
ever, they may grossly abuse ; he allows their power 
in cases where they are acting as a court of judica- 
ture, viz. elections, returns, &;c. and he allows it in 
such contempts as immediately interrupt their pro- 
ceedings ; or, as Mr. Noye expresses it, falling out 
m their view in parliament. 

They who would carry the privileges of parlia- 
ment farther than Junius, either do not mean well to 
the public, or know not what they are doing. The 
government of England is a government of law. 
We btiray oiirsclves, we contradict the spirit of ou» 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 89 

.aws, ar.d we shake the whole system of English ju- 
risprudence, whenever we entrust a discretionary 
power over the life, liberty, or fortune of the subject 
to any man, or set of men, whatsoever, upon a pre 
sumption that it will not be abused. 

PHILO JUNIUS 



XLVTl. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser 

SIR, May 28, 1771- 

Any man who takes the trouble of perusing the 
journals of the house of commons, will soon be con- 
vinced, that very little, if any regard at all, ought to 
be paid to the resolutions of one branch of the legis- 
lature, declaratory o'' the law of the land, or even ot 
what they call the law of parliament. It will appear 
that these resolutions have no one of the properties by 
which, in this country particularly, law is distinguish- 
ed from mere will and pleasure; but that, on the 
contrary, they bear ever}' mark of a power arbitrarily 
assumed and capriciously applied : that they are 
usually made in times of contest, and to serve some 
unworthy purpose of passion or party; that the law 
is seldom declared until after the fact by which it is 
supposed to be violated : that legislation and juris- 
diction are united in the same persons, and exercised 
at the same moment; and that a court from which 
here is no appeal, assumes an original jurisdiction 
n a criminal case. In short sir, to collect a thousand 



90 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

abs\irdities into one mass, " we have a aw which 
cannot be known, because it is ex post facto : the 
party is both legislator and judge, and the juris- 
diction is without appeal." Well might the judges 
s;i}', " The law of parliament is above us " 

You will not wonder, sir, that with these qualifi- 
tations, the declaratory resolutions of the house ol 
eommons should appear to be in perpetual contra- 
diction, not only to common sense, and to the laws 
we are acquainted with, (and which alone we can 
obey,) but even to one another. I was led to trouble 
you with these observations by a passage, which, to 
speak in lutestring, / met with this morning in the 
''ourse of my reading, and upon which I mean to put 
a question to the advocates for privilege. On the 
Stb of March, 1704, (FicJe Journals, Vol. xiv. p. 566,) 
the house thought proper to come to the following 
resolutions : 1. " That no commoner of England 
rommitted by the bouse of commons for breach of 
privilege or contempt of that house, ought to be, by 
any writ of Habeas Corpus, made to appeal in any 
other place, or before any other judicature, during 
that session of parliament wherein such person was so 
committed." 

2. " That the serjeant at arms, attending this 
house, do make no return of, or yield any obedience 
10, the said writs of Habeas Corpus ; and for such 
his refusal, that he lave the protection of the house c. 
coniuiv n? * 

• If there be, in reality, any such law in England as the 
faw of parliament, which (under the exception stated in 
Riy letter on privilege) I confess, after long deliberation, I 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 9i 

Weibore Ellis, what say you ? Is this the law ol 
parliament, or is it not? I am a plain man, sir, and 
cannot follow you through the phlegmatic forms of 
an oration. Speak out, Gildrig, say yes or no. If 
you say yes, I shall then inquire by what authority 
Mr. de Grey, the honest lord Mansfield, and the 
barons of the exchequer, dared to grant a writ ol 
Habeas Corpus for bringing the bodies of the lord 
mayor and Mr. Oliver before them ; and why the 
lieutenant of the Tower made any return to a writ, 
which the house of commons had, in a similar in- 
stance, declared to be unlawful. If you say no, take 
care you do not at once give up the cause in support 
of which you have so long and so laboriously tor- 
tured your understanding. Take care you do no 
confess that there is no test by which we can distin 
guish, no evidence by which we can determine, what 
is, and what is not, the law of parliament. The 
resolutions I have quoted, stand upon your journals, 
uncontroverted and unrepealed : they contam a de- 
claration of the law of parliament by a court com- 
petent to the question, and whose decision, as you 
and lord Mansfield say, must be law, because there 



very much doubt, it certainly is not constituted by, nor can 
it be collected from, the resolutions ^f either house, whether 
enacting or declaratory. I desire the reader will compare 
the above resolutions of the year 1704, with the following ot 
the 3d ul April, 1628. — " Resolved, That the writs ofHabea, 
Corpus cannot be denied, but ought to be granted to everrj 
man that is committed or detained in prison, or otherwise 
restranied by the command of the king, the privy council| 
w any other, hr pra} ing the same." 



92 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

s lio appeal from it : and ihey were made not liasti 
ly, but after long deliberation upon a constitutioiia. 
question. What farther sanction or solemnity will 
you annex to any resolution of the present house of 
commons, bej'ond what appears upon the face of those 
two resolutions, the legality of which you now deny' 
If you say that parliaments are not infallible, and 
that queen Anne, in consequence of the violent pro- 
ceedings of that house of commons, was obliged to 
prorogue and dissolve them, I shall agree with you 
very heartily, and think that the precedent ought to 
be followed immediately. But you, Mr. Ellis, who 
hold this language, are inconsistent with your own 
principles. You have hitherto maintained, that the 
house of commons are the sole judges of their own 
privileges, and that their declaration does ipso facto 
constitute the law of parliament ; yet now you con- 
fess that parliaments are fallible, and that their re- 
solutions may be illegal ; consequently that their re- 
solutions do not constitute the law of parliament. 
When the king was advised to dissolve the present 
parliament, you advised him to tell his subjects, that 
" he was careful not to assume any of those powers 
which the constitution had placed in other hands," 
&IC. Yet queen Anne, it seems, was justified in ex- 
erting her prerogative to stop a house of commons 
whose proceedings, compared with those of the as 
»embly of which you are a most worthy member 
were the perfection of justice and reason. 

In what a labyrinth of nonsense does a man involve 
himself who labours to maintain falsehood by argu- 
ment ! How much better would it become the dig- 
nity of the house of commons, to speak plainly to the 



JUNIUS'S LETTER^. 93 

peop e, and tell us, at once, " that their will must be 
obeyed ; not because it is lawful and reasonable, but 
because it is their will !" Their constituents would 
have a better opinion of their candour, and, 1 promise 
\ ou, not a worse opinion of their integrity. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



XLVIII. 



To his Grace the Duke of Chrafton. 

MY LORD, June 22, 1771. 

The profound respect 1 bear to the gracious prince 
t^tio governs this country, vvitli no less honour to 
liJinself than satisfaction to his subjects, and who re- 
stores you to your rank under his standard, will save 
you from a multitude of reproaches. The attention 
I should have paid to your failings, is involuntaril}' 
attracted to the hand that rewards them ; and though 
[ am not so partial to the royal judgment as to affirm, 
that the favour of a king can remove mountains of 
infamy, it serves to lessen, at least, (for undoubtedly 
it divides,) the burden. While I remember how much 
is due to his sacred character, 1 cannot, with any de- 
cent appearance of propriety, call you the meanest 
and basest fellow in the kingdom. I protest, my lord, 
I do no' think you so. You will have a dangerous 
rival in that kind of fame to which you have hitherto 
so happily directed your ambition, so long as there is 
one man living who thinks you worthy of his confi- 
•lence, and fit to be trusted with any share in his 



34 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

government. I confess you have great intrins* 
merit ; but take care you do not value it toe highly 
Consider how much of it would have been lo;t to the 
<vorld, if the king had not graciously affixed his stamp 
and given it currency among his subjects. If it bf. 
true that a virtuous man, struggling with adversity, 
be a scene worthy of the gods, the glorious contention 
between you and the best of princes deserves a circle 
f^^qually attentive and respectable : 1 think I already 
see other gods rising from the earth to behold it. 

But this language is too mild for the occasion. 
The king is determined that our abilities shall not be 
lost to society. The perpetration and description of 
new crimes will find employment for us both. My 
lord, if the persons who have been loudest in their 
professions of patriotism, had done their duty to the 
public with the same zeal and perseverance that I 
did, I will not assert that government would have re- 
covered its dignity, but at least our gacious sove- 
reign must have spared his subjects this last insult;* 
which, if there be any feeling left among us, they will 
esent more than even the real injuries they received 
from every measure of your grace's administration. 
In vain would he have looked round him for another 
character so consummate as yours. Lord Mansfield 
shrinks from his principles: his ideas of government, 
perhaps, go farther than your own ; but his heart 
disgraces the theory of his understanding Charles 
Fox is yet in blossom ; and as for Mr. Wedderburne, 
there is something about him which even treachery 
cannot trust. For the present, therefore, the best of 

• The dul ? WHS lately appointe 1 ^-d privy seal 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 96 

princes mast have contented himself with lord Sand- 
wich. You would long since have received your fina. 
dismission and reward, and I, my lord, who do not 
esteem you the more for the high office you possess, 
would willingly have followed you to your retirement 
There is surely something singularly benevolent in 
the character of our sovereign. From the moment 
fie ascended the throne, there is no crime of which 
human nature is capable (and I call upon (he record- 
er to witness it) that has not appeared venial in his 
sight. With any other prince, the shameful desertion 
of him in the midst of that distress which you alone 
hid created, in the ver\ crisis of danger, when he 
fancied he saw the throne surrounded by men of vir- 
tue and abilities, would have outweighed the memory 
of your former services. But his majesty is full oi 
justice, and understands the doctrine of compensa- 
tions. He remembers, with gratitude, how soon you 
had accommodated your morals to the necessity o{ 
his service ; how cheerfully you had abandoned the 
engagements of private friendship, and renounced the 
most solemn professions to the public. The sacrifice 
<»f lord Chatham was not lost upon him. Even the 
«!owardice and perfidy of deserting him may have 
done you no disservice in his esteem. The instance 
was painful, but the principle might please. 

You did not neglect the magistrate win.'e you flat- 
tered the man. The expulsion of Mr. Wilkes, prede- 
termined in the cabinet ; the power of depriving the 
subject of his birthright, attributed to a resolution of 
one branch of the legislature ; the constitution impu- 
dently invaded by the house of commons ; the right 
of defending it treacherously renoniued by the house 



96 JUNIUS'S r.ETTCRS. 

of lords; hese are the strokes, my lord, wliicli, in the 
present reign, recommend to office and constitute a 
minister. They would have determined your sove- 
reign's judgment, if tliey had made no impression 
upon i)is heart. We need not look for any other 
species of merit to account for his taking the earliest 
opportunity to recull you to his councils. But you 
have other merit in abundance. Mr. Hine, the duke 
of Portland, and .Mr. Yorke : — Breach of trust, rob- 
bery, and murder. You would think it a compliment 
to your gallantry, if I added rape to the catalogue, 
but the style of your amours secures you from resis- 
tance. I know how well these several charges have 
been defended. In the first instance, the breach o 
trust is supposed to have been its own reward. Mr 
Bradshaw affirms, upon his honour, (and so may the 
gift of smiling never depart from him !) that you re- 
served no part of Mr. Hine's purchase-money for 
your own use, but that every shilling of it was scru- 
pulously paid to governor Burgoyne. Make haste, 
my lord; another patent, applied in time, may keep 
the Oaks* in the family. If not, Birnham-Wood, ( 
fear, must come to the Macaroni. 

The duke of Portland was in life your earliest 
friend. In defence of his property, he had nothing 
to plead but equity against sir James Lowther, and 
prescription against the crown. You felt for your 
friend : hut the law must take its course. Posterity 
will scarce bell«ive that lord Bute's son-in-law had 



• A superb villa of colonel Burgoyne, about this time ad> 
"ertisei for sale. 



JUNIUS'S Lr^TTERS. 97 

oarely interest enough al the treasury to get his grant 
completed before the geueral election.* 

Enough has been said of that detestable transac- 
tion whici) ended in the death of Mr. Yorke . I can- 
not speak of it without horror and compassion. To 
excuse yourself, you publicly impeach your accom- 
plice ; and to his mind, perhaps, the accusation may 
be flattery. But in murder you are both principals. 
It was once a question of emulation ; and, if the 
event had not disappointed the immediate schemes of 
the closet, it might still have been a hopeful subject 
of jest and merriment between you. 

This letter, my lord, is only a preface to my fu- 
ture correspondence. The remainder of the summer 
shall be dedicated to your amusement. I mean now 
and then to relieve the severity of your morning stu 
dies, and to prepare you for the business of the day. 
Without pretending to more than Mr. Bradshaw's 
sincerity, you may rely upon my attachment as long 
as you are in office. 

Will your grace forgive me, if I venture to express 
some anxiety for a man whom I know you do not 
love .'' My lord Weymouth has cowardice to plead, 
and a desertion of a later date dian your own. You 
know the privy-seal was intended for him ; and if 
vou consider the dignity of the post he deserted, you 
wrll hardly think it decent to quarter him on Mr. Rig- 

* It will appear, by a subseciuent letter, that the duke's 
prfcipitation proved fatal to the grant. It looks like the 
hurry and confusion of a young liigluvaynian, who takes a 
few shillings, but leaves the purse and watch behind him 
And yet the duke was an old offender. 

vjL. II. E 7 



98 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

by. Yet he must have bread, my lord ; or, ijither. h« 
must have wine. If you deny him the cup, there wil 
be no keeping him within the pale of the ministr\ 

JUNIUS. 



XLIX. 

To his Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, July 9, 1771. 

The intkience of your grace's fortune still seemi 
to preside over the treasury. The genius of Mr. 
Bradshaw inspires Mr. Robinson.* How remarka- 
ble it is (and I speak of it not as a matter of reproach, 
but as something peculiar to your character) that you 
have never yeJ. formed a friendship, which has not 
been fatal to tlie object of it ; nor adopted a cause, 
to which, one way or other, you have not done mis- 
chief! Your atinchment is infamy while it lasts; 
and, which ever way it turns, leaves ruin and dis- 
grace behind it. The deluded girl, who yields to 
such a profligate, even while he is constant, forfeits 
her reputation as well as her innocence, and finds 
herself abandoned at last to misery and shame. Thus 
it happened with the best of princes. Poor Dingley, 
too ! I protest I hardly know which of them we ought 

* By an intercepted letter from the secretary of the tiea- 
Bury, it appeared, that the friends of government were to 
he very ictive in supporting the ministerial nomination a 
shpriffs. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 99 

most to lament; the unhappy man wlio sinks under th« 
sense of his dishonour, oi him who survives it. Char- 
acters so finished are placed beyond the reach of pan- 
egyric. Death has fixed his seal upon Dingley ; and 
you, my lord, have set your mark upon the other. 

The only letter I ever addressed to the king was so 
unkindly received, that I believe I shall never pre- 
sume to trouble his majesty in that way again. Bui 
my zeal for his service is superior to neglect ; and, 
like Mr. Wilkes's patriotism, thrives by persecution. 
Yet his majesty is much addicted to useful reading; 
and, if J am not ill informed, has honoured the Pub- 
lic Advertiser with particular attention. I have en- 
deavoured, therefore, and not without success, (as, 
periiaps, you may remember,) to furnish it with sncli 
interesting and edifying intelligence, as prt)b<»l)ly 
would not reach him through any otlier channel. 
The services you have done tlie nation, your integri- 
ty in office, and signal fidelity to your apjjroved good 
master, have been faithfully recorded. Nor have his 
own virtues been entirely neglected. These letters, 
my lord, are read in other countries, and in other 
languages ; and I think I may affirm, without vanity, 
that the gracious character of the best of princes is 
b}' this time, not only perfectly known to his sub- 
jects, but tolerably well underb:tood by the rest oi 
Europe. In this respect alone I have the advantage 
of Mr. Whitehead. His plan, I think, is too narrow. 
He seems to manufacture his verses for the sole use 
'jf the hero who is supposed to be the subject of them, 
and, that his meaning may not be exported in foreign 
bottoms, sets all translation at defiance. 

Your grace's re-appointment to a seat in the « abi 



100 JUNIUS'S -^ETTERS. 

net was announced to the public by the otnhious re- 
turn of lord Bute to this country. When that nox- 
ious planet approaches England, he never fails to 
bring plague and pestilence along with him. The 
king already feels the nialignani efiect of your influ- 
ence over his councils. Your former administration 
made Mr. Wilkes an alderman of Lontlon and repre- 
sentative of Middlesex. Your next appearance in 
office is marked with his election to the shrievalty. 
£n whatever measure you are concerned, you are not 
only disappointed of success, but always contrive to 
make the government of the best of princes contempt- 
ible in his own eyes, and ridiculous to the whole 
world. Making all due allowance for the effect of the 
minister's declared interposition, Mr. Robinson's ac- 
tivity, and Mr. Home's new zeal in support of ad- 
ministration, we still want the genius of the duke oJ 
Grafton to account for committing the whole interest 
of government in the city to the conduct of Mr. Har- 
ley. I will not bear hard upon your faithful friend 
and emissary, Mr. Touchet ; for I know the diilicul- 
ties of his situation, and that a few lottery tickets are 
of use to his economy. There is a proverb concern- 
ing persons in the predicament of this gentleman, 
which, however, cannot be strictly applied to him, 
They commence dupes, and finish knaves. Now, jMr. 
Touchet's ciiaracter is uniform. I am convinced that 
his sentiments never depended upon his circumstan- 
ces ; and that, in the most prosperous state of his 
fortune, he wa* always the very man he is at present. 
But was ♦iicre no other person of rank and conse- 
quence in the city, whom government could confide 
m, but a lotorious Jacobite : Did you imagine thai 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 101 

the wUole body of the dissenters, that the whole whig 
interest of London, would attend at the levee, and 
Rubniit to the directions of a notorious Jacobite ? 
Was there no whig magistrate in the city, to whom 
the servants of George the Third could entrust the 
management of a business so very interesting to their 
master as the election of sheriffs ? Is there no room 
at St. James's but for Scotchmen and Jacobites f 
My lord, I do not mean to question the sincerity of 
Mr. Harley's attachment to his majesty's government. 
Since the commencement of the present reign. I have 
seen still greater contradictions reconciled. The 
principles of these worthy Jacobites are not so ab- 
surd as they have been represented. Their ideas of 
divine right are not so much annexed to the person 
or family, as to the political character of the sove- 
reign. Had there ever been an honest man among 
the Stuarts, his majesty's present friends would have 
been whigs upon principle. But the conversion of 
the best of princes has removed their scruples. They 
have forgiven him the sins of his Hanoverian ancestors, 
and acknowledged the hand of Providence in the de- 
scent of the crown upon the head of a true Stuart. 
In you, my lord, they also behold, with a kind of 
predilection which borders upon loyalty, the natural 
representative of that illustrious family. The mode 
of^ your descent from Charles the Second is only a 
bar to your pretentions to the crown, and no way in- 
terrupts the regularity of your succession to all the 
virtues of the Stuarts. 

The unfortunate success of the reverend Mr. Home i 
endeavours in support of the ministerial nommatioil 



IU2 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

of sheriffs, will, I fear, obstruct his prefermenl 
Permit me to recommend him to your grace's pro- 
tection. You will find him copiously gifted with 
those qualities of the heart which usually direct you 
in the choice of your friendships. He too was IMr. 
Wilkes's friend, and as incapable as you are of the 
liberal resentment of a gentleman. No, m} lord ; 
It was the solitary, vindictive malice of a monk, 
brooding over the infirmities of his friend, until he 
thought they quickened into public life, and feasting 
with a rancorous rapture upon the sordid catalogue 
of his distresses. Now let him go back to his clois- 
ter. The church is a proper retreat for him. In his 
principles he is already a bishop. 

The mention of this man has moved me from my 
fiatnral moderation. Let me return to your grace. 
You are the pillow upon which I aiij determined to 
rest all my resentments. What idea can the best of 
sovereigns form to himself of his own government ? 
In what repute can he conceive that he stands with 
the people, when he sees, beyond the possibility of a 
doubt, that, whatever be the office, the suspicion of 
liis favour is fatal to the candidate ; and that, when 
the party he wishes well to has the fairest prospect of 
success, if his royal inclination should unfortunately 
be discovered, it drops like an acid, and turns the 
election ? 

This event, among others, may, perhaps, con- 
tr"bu..e to opei. his majesty's oyes to Lis it »1 A'tnour 
and interest. In spite of all your grace's ingenuity, 
he may, at last, perceive the inconvenience of se- 
ecting, with such a cur'ous felicity every villain in 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. lOJ 

the nation to fill the various departments of his gov- 
ernment. Yet I should be sorry to confine him in 
the choice either of his footmen or his friends. 

JUNIUS. 



L. 

From the Rev. Mr. Home to Junius. 

SIR, July 13, 1771. 

Farce, Comedy, and Tragedy. — Wilkes, Foote, 
and Junius — united at the same time against one poor 
parson, are fearful odds. The two former are only 
labouring m their vocation, and may equally plead, 
in excuse, that their aim is a livelihood. I admit the 
plea for the second : his is an honest calling, and my 
dothes were lawful game ; but I cannot so readily 
approve Mr. Wilkes, or commend him for making 
patriotism a trade, and a frudulent trade. But what 
shall I say to Junius .'' the grave, the solemn, the 
didactic ! Ridicule, indeed, has been ridiculously 
tailed the test of truth : but surely, to confess that 
>ou lose your natural moderation when mention i? 
made of the man, does not promise much truth or 
justice when you speak oC him yourself. 

y^u .ha.|je 1.1! wiJi "a »ic>v /,oal h\ suj'pori oi' 
administration," and with " endeavours in support 
of the ministerial nomination of sherifis." The re- 
putation which your talents have deservedly gained 
to the signature of Junius draws from me a repiy 



104 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

wliicli 1 disdained to give to the anonymous lies of 
Mi\ Wilkes. You make frequent use of the word 
gentleman; I only call myself a man, and desire no 
olher distinction. If you are either, you are bound 
to make good your charges, or to confess that you 
have done me a hasty injustice upon no authority. 

1 put the matter fiirly to issue. 1 say that, so far 
from any " new zeal i'l support of administration," 
I am possessed with the utmost abhorrence of their 
nveasures ; and that I have ever shown myself, and 
am still ready, in any rational manner, to lay down 
all I have — my life, in opposition to those measures. 
I say, that I have not, and never have had, any 
communication or connexion of any kind, directly or 
indirectly, with any courtier or ministerial man^ or 
any of their adherents ; that I never have received, 
or solicited, or expected, or desired, or do now hope 
for, any reward of any sort, from any party or set 
of men in administration or opposition. I say, that 
I never used any " endeavours in support of the min- 
isterial nomination of sheriffs ;" that I did not solicit 
ony one liveryman for his vote for any one of the 
candidates, nor employ any other person to solicit ; 
and that I did not write one single line or word in fa- 
vour of Mess. Plumbe and Kirkman, whom I under- 
stand to have been supported b}' the ministry. 

You are bound to refute what I here advance, or to 
»'jse your credit for veracity. You must produce facts; 
surmise and general abuse, in however elegant lan- 
guage, ought not to pass for proofs. You have every 
advantage, and I have every disadvantage : you are 
unknown ; I give my name. All parties, both in and 
out of administration, have their reasons (which J 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS l(^ 

shall relate hereafter) for uniting in their wishes against 
me : and the popular prejudice is as strongly in your 
favour as it is violent against the parson. 

Singular as my present situation is, it is ut'ither 
painful, nor was it unforeseen. He is not fit lor pub- 
lic business, who does not, even at his entrance, pro- 
pare his mind for such an event. Health, foi\une, 
tranquillity, and private connexions, I have sacrificed 
upon the altar of the public ; and the only return 1 
received, because I will not concur to dupe and mis- 
lead a senseless multitude, is barely, that they have 
not yet torn me in pieces. That this has been the 
only return is my pride and a source of more rcixl 
satisfaction than honours or prosperity. I can prac- 
tise, before I am old, the lessons I learned in my 
youth ; nor shall I forget the words of my ancient 
monitor : 

" 'Tis the last key-stone 
That makes the arch ; the rest that there were put, 
Are nothing till that comes to bind and shut ; 
Then stands it a triumphal mark ' Then men 
Observe the strength, the height, the why and wher 
It was erected; and still, walking under, 
Meet some new matter to look up and wonder !" 

1 am, sir, your humble servant, 

JOHN HOIINK 



E 2 



106 JlJi^lUS'S LETTERS. 



LI. 



To the Iievcr»'\d Mr. Hoit.^ 

SIR, July 24, J 771. 

I cannot descend to an altercation with you in the 
newspapers: but since I have attacked your 'harac- 
ter, and you complain of injustice, 1 think you hava 
some right to an explanation. You defy me to prove, 
that you ever solicited a vote, or wrote a word in 
support of the ministerial aldermen. Sir, 1 did never 
suspect you of such gross folly. It would have been 
impossible for Mr. Home to have solicited votes, and 
very difficult to have written in the newspapers in of- 
fence of that cause, without being detected, and 
brought to shame. Neither do I pretend to any in- 
telligence concerning you, or to know more of your 
conduct than you yourself have thought proper to 
comiimnicate to the public. It is from your own let- 
ters, I conclude, that you have sold yourself to the 
ministry : or, if that charge be too severe, and sup- 
posing it possible to be deceived by appearances si. 
very strongly against you, what are your friends to 
say in your defence.'' Must they not confess, that, to 
gratify your personal hatred of Mr. Wilkes, you sa- 
crificed, as far as depended on your interest and 
abilities, the cause of the country ? I can make al- 
lowances for the violence of the passions ; and if ever 
I should be convinced that vou had no motive but to 
destroy Wilkes, I shall then b» ready in do justice \-> 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. to-; 

youi II. tfacter, and to declare to the world, that J 
despise you somewhat less than I do at present But, 
as a public man, 1 must for ever condemn you. You 
.annot but know, (nay, you dare not pretend to be 
'gnorant) that the highest gratifications of which the 
most detestable * * in this nation is capable, would 
have been the defeat of Wilkes. I know that iiian 
much better than any of you. Nature intended him 
only for a good-humoured fool. A systematical 
education, with long practice, has made him a con- 
summate hypocrite. Yet this man, to say nothing of 
iiis worthy ministers, 3'ou have most assiduously la- 
boured to gratify. To exclude Wilkes, it was not 
necessary you should solicit votes for his opponents. 
We incline the balance as effectually by lessening the 
weight in one scale, as increasing it in the other. 

The mode of your attack upon Wilkes (though I 
atn far from thinking meanly of your abilities) con- 
vinces me that you either want judgment extremely, 
or that you are blinded by your resentment. You 
ought to have foreseen that the charges you urged 
against Wilkes could never do him any mischief 
After all, when we expected discoveries higidy inter- 
esting to the community, what a pitiful detail did 1* 
end in ! — some old clothes, — a Welsh pony — a 
French footman — and a haujper of claret. Indeed. 
Rlr. Home, the public should and will forgive him 
his claret and his footman, and even the ambition oi 
making his brother chamberlain of London, as long 
as he stands forth agauist a ministry and parliament 
who are doing every thing they can to enslave the 
country, and as long as he is a thorn in the king's 
^jde You will not suspect me of setting up Wilkes 



108 JUNIUS'S LETTIRS. 

for a perfect character. The question I. the public 
is, where shall we find a man who, vvitn purer prin- 
ciples, will go the lengths, and run the hazards, that 
he has done? The season calls for such a man, and 
he ought to be supported. What would have been 
the triumph of that odious hypocrite and his minions, 
if Wilkes had been defeated ! It was not your fault, 
reverend sir, that he did not enjoy it completely. 
But now, I promise you, you have so little power to 
do mischief, that I much question whether the minis- 
try will adhere to the promises they have made you. 
It will be in vain to say that I am a partizan of Mr. 
Wilkes, or personally your enemy. You will con- 
vince no man, for you do not believe it yourself. 
Vet I confess I am a little offended at the low rate al 
which you seem to value my understanding. I beg, 
Mr. Home, you will hereafter believe, that I measure 
the integrity of men by their conduct, not by their 
professions. Such tales may entertain Mr. Oliver, or 
your grandmother ; but, trust me, they are thrown 
away upon Junius. 

You say } ou are a man. Was it generous, was it 
manly, repeatedly to introduce into a newspaper, the 
name of a young lady with whom you must hereto- 
fore have lived on terms of politeness and good hu- 
mour f But I have done with you. In my opinion, 
your credit is irrevocably ruined. Mr. Townshend, 
I think, is, nearly in the same predicament. Poor 
Oliver has been shamefully duped by you. You have 
made him sacrifice all the honour he got by his im 
prison ment. As for Mr. Sawbridge, whose charac- 
ter I really respect, I am astonished he does not see 
through your duplicity Never was so base a design 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 109 

BO pool 1} conducted. This letter,* you see, is not 
'ntended for the public ; but, if you think it will do 
you any service, you are at liberty to publish it. 

JUN[US 



LII. 

From the Rev. Mr. Home to Junius. 

SIR, July 31, 1771. 

You have disappointed me. When I told you that 
surmise and general abuse, in however elegant lan- 
guage, ought not to pass for proofs, 1 evidently hint- 
ed at the reply which I expected : but you have drop- 
ped your usual elegance, and seem willing to try what 
will be the eflect of surmise and general abuse in very 
coarse language. Your answer to my last letter 
(which, I hope, was cool, and temperate, and modest) 
has convinced me, that my idea of a man is much su- 
perior to yours of a gentleman. Of your formei 
letters, I have always said, Materiem superahat opus : 
I do not think so of the present : the principles are 
more detestable than the expressions are mean and 
illiberal. I am contented that all those who adopt 
the one should for ever load me with the other. 

I appeal to the common sense of the public, to 
which 1 have ever directed myself: I believe they have 

* This letter was transmitted privately by the printer tc 
Mr. Home, at Junius's request. Mr. Home returned it to 
the printer, with directiors to publish it. 



no JUXIUS'S LETTERS. 

it ; though i am sometimes half inclined to suspecl 
that Mr. Wilkes has formed a truer judgment of man- 
kind than I have. However, of this I am sure, that 
there is nothing else upon which to place a steady 
reliance. Trick, and low cunning, and addressing 
their prejudices and passions, may be the fittest means 
to carry a particular point; but if they have not com- 
mon sense, there is no prospect of gaining for them 
any real permanent good. The same passions which 
have been artfully used by an honest man for their 
advantage, may be more artfully employed by a dis- 
honest man for their destruction. I desire them to 
apply their common sense to this letter of Junius, 
not for my sake, but their own ; it concerns them 
most nearly ; for the principles it contains lead to 
disgrace and ruin, and are inconsistent with every 
notion of civil society. 

The charges which Junius has brought against me, 
are made ridiculous by his own inconsistency and 
self-contradiction. He charges me positively with 
" a new zeal in support of administration;" and with 
" endeavours in support of the ministerial nomina- 
tion of sheriffs." And he assigns two inconsistent 
motives for my conduct : either that I have " sold 
myself to the ministry ;" or am instigated " by the 
solitary vindictive malice of a monk :" either that I 
am influenced by a sordid desire of gain, or am hur- 
ried on by " personal hatred, and blinded by resent- 
ment." In his letter to the duke of Grafton, he sup- 
poses me actuated by both : in his letter to me, he at 
first doubts which of the two, whether interest or re- 
venge, is my motive. However, at last he determines 
for the former and again positively asserts, " tliat 



lUNIUS'S LETTERS. Ill 

the nnnisiry have made me promises :" yet h«» pro- 
duces no instance of corruption, nor pretends to have 
any intelligence of a ntinisterial connexion. He men- 
tions no cause of personal hatred to Mr. Wilkes, nor 
an}' reason for my resentment or revenge : nor has 
Mr. Wilkes himself ever hinted any, though repeat- 
edly pressed. When Junius is called upon to justify 
his accusation, he answers, " He cannot descend to 
an altercation with me in the newspapers," Junius, 
who exists only in th,e newspapers, wlio acknowledges 
he has " attacked my character" there, and thinks 
" I have some right to an explanation ;" yet this 
Junius " cannot descend to an altercation in the 
newspapers !" And because he cannot descend to 
an altercation with me in the newspapers, he sends a 
letter of abuse, by the printer, which he finishes with 
telling me, " I am at liberty to publish it." This, 
to be sure, is a most excellent method to avoid an 
altercation in the newspapers! 

The proofs of his positive charges are as extraor- 
dinary. " He does not pretend to any intelligence 
concerning me, or to know more of my conduct than 
I myself have thought proper to communicate to the 
public." He does not suspect me of such gross folly 
as to have solicited votes, or to have written anony- 
mously in the newspapers; because it is impossible tu 
do either without being detected, and brought to 
siiame. Junius says this ! who yet imagines that he 
has himself written two years under that signature 
(and more under others) witliout i)eing detected ! hi;, 
warmest admirers will not hereafter add, without be- 
ing brought to shame. But, though he never did 
•uspect me of such gross folly, as to run the hazard 



J 12 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

of being detected, and brought to shame, by anon> 
mous writing, he insists that I have been guilty of a 
much grosser folly, of incu) ring the certainty of shame 
and detection, by writings signed witjj my name ! 
But this is a small flight for the towering Junius : 
" He is far from thinking meanly of my abilities," 
though " he is convinced that I want judgment ex- 
tremely;" and can " really respect Mr. Sawbridge's 
character," though he declares him* to be so poor a 
creature, as not to " see through the basest design, 
conducted in the poorest manner. And this most 
base design is conducted in the poorest maimer by a 
man, whom he does not suspect of gross folly, and of 
whose abilities he is far from thinking meanly ! 

Should we ask Junius to reconcile these contra- 
dictions, and explain this nonsense, the answer is 

* I beg leave to introduce Mr. Home to the character ol 
the Double Dealer. I thought they had been better ac- 
quainted. " Another very wrong objection has been made 
by some, who have not taken leisure to distinguish the 
characters. The hero of the play (meaning Melefoni) is a 
gull, and made a fool, and cheated. Is every man a gull 
•.nd a fool that is deceived ? At that rate, I am afraid, the 
two classes of men will be reduced to one, and the knaves 
themselves be at a loss to justify their title. But if an open, 
honest-hearted man, who has an entire confidence in one 
whom he takes to be his friend, and who (to confirni him in 
his opinion) in all appearance, and upon several trials, has 
been so, if this man be deceived by the treachery of the 
other, must he of necessity commence fool immediately, 
only because the other has proved a villain ?" Yes, sayg 
parson Home. No, says Congreve : and he, I think, is a| 
lowed to have known so»nething of human nature. 



JTJNIUS'S LETTERS. 113 

ready: " He cannot descend to an altercation in the 
newspapers." He leels no reluctance to attack the 
character of any man : the throne is not too high, 
nor the cottage too low : his mighty malice can grasp 
botli extremes. He hints not his accusations as opin- 
ion, conjecture, or inference, but delivers them as 
positive assertions. Do the accused complain of in- 
justice.'' He acknowledges they have some sort of 
right to an explanation ; but if they ask for proofs 
and facts, he begs to be excused ; and though he is 
no where else to be encountered, " he cannot descend 
to an altercation in the newspapers." 

And this, perhaps, Junius may think " the liberal 
resentment of a gentleman ;" tins sculiiing assassina- 
tion he may call courage. In all things, as in this, I 
hope we differ. 

" I thought that fortitude had been a mean 
'Twixt fear and rashness; not a hist t)bscene, 
Or appetite of offending ; but a skill 
And nice discernment between good and ill. 
Her ends are honesty and public good : 
And without these she is not understood." 

Of two things, however, he has condescended to 
give proof. He very properly produces a young lady 
to prove that I am not a man; and a good old ivomnn, 
my grandmother, to prove Mr. Oliver a fool. Poor 
old soul! she read her Bible far otherwise than Ju- 
nius ! She often found there, that the sins of the 
fathers had been visited on the children ; and there- 
fore was cautious that herself, and her immediate 
descendants, should leave no reproach on her poster- 
ity : and they left none. How I'ttle could she fore* 



114 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

see this reverse of Junius, who visits my p3 ical sins 
upon my grandmother! I do not charge this to the 
score of malice in him; it proceeded eiuirely from his 
propensity to hlunder ; that whilst he was reproacii- 
iiig me for introducing, in the most harmless manner, 
the name oione feinale, he might himself, at the same 
instant, introduce two, 

I am represented, alternately, as it suits Junius's 
purpose, under the opposite characters of a glooiny 
4notik, and a man o( politeness and good-humour. I 
am called " a solitary monk," in order to confirm the 
notion given of me in Mr. Wilkes's anonymous para- 
graphs, that I never laugh. And the terms of polite- 
ness and good-humour, on which I am said to have 
lived heretofore with the young lady, are intended to 
confirm other paragraphs of Mr. Wilkes, in which he 
IS supposed to have offended me by refusing his daugh- 
ter. Ridiculous! Yet I cannot deny but that Junius 
has proved me unmanly and ungenerous, as clearly 
as he has shown me corrupt and vindictive : and 1 
will tell him more ; I have paid the present ministry 
as many visits and compliments as ever I paid to the 
young lady ; and shall all my life treat them with the 
same politeness and good-humour. 

But Junius " begs me to believe, that he measures 
the integrity of men by their conduct, not by their 
professions." Sure this Junius must imagine his 
readers as void of understanding as he is of modesty ! 
Where shall we find the standard of his integrity <* 
By what are we to measure the conduct of this lurk- 
ing assassin ? And he says this to me, whose conduct, 
wherever I could personally appear, has been as 
direct and open, and pub''c as my words. I havfi 



JUNIUS'S L.ETTE11S. 116 

not, like him, concealed myself in my chambt ,, to 
shoot my arrows out of the window ; nor contented 
myself to view the battle from afar; but publicly 
mixed in the engagement, and shared the danger. 
To whom have 1, like hitn, refused my name, upon 
complaint of injury? What printer have I desired 
to conceal me ? In the infinite variety of business in 
which I have been concerned, where it is not so easy 
to be faultless, which of my actions can he arraign ? 
To what danger has any man been exposed, which I 
have not faced ? Information, action, imprisonment, 
or deaths What labour have I refused? What 
expense have I declined? What pleasure have I not 
renounced ? But Junius, to whom no conduct be- 
longs, " measures the integrity of men by their con- 
duct, not by their professions :" himself, all the while 
being nothing but professions, and those too anony- 
mous. The political ignorance, or wilful falsehood, 
of this declaimer, is extreme. His own former letters 
justify both my conduct and those whom his last let- 
ter abuses : for the public measures which Junius has 
been all along defending, were ours whom he attacks ; 
and the uniform opposer of those measures has been 
Mr. Wilkes, whose bad actions and intentions he en- 
deavours to screen. 

Let Junius now, if he pleases, change his abuse, 
and quitting his loose hold of interest and revenge, 
accuse me of vanity, and call this defence boasting. 
1 own I have pride to see statues decreed, and the 
highest honours conferred, for measures and actions 
which all men have approved ; whilst those who coun- 
selled and caused them are execrated and insulted. 
The darkness in whicl-. Junius thi?ks himself shroud' 



A 16 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ed, has not concealed him : nor the artifice of onlj 
attacking tinder that signature those he would pul 
down, whilst he recommends by other ways those he 
would have promoted, disguised from me whose par- 
tizan he is. When lord Chatham can forgive the 
awkward situation in which, for the sake of the pub- 
ic, he was designedly placed by the thanks to him 
from the city ; and when Wilkes's name ceases to be 
necessary to lord Rockingham, to keep up a clamour 
against the persons of the ministry, without obliging 
the different factions, now in opposition, to bind them- 
selves beforehand to some certain points, and to stip- 
ulate some precise advantages to the public ; then, 
and not till then, may those whom he now abuses ex- 
pect the approbation of Junius. The approbation of 
the public, for our faithful attention to their interest, 
by endeavours for those stipulations, which have made 
us as obnoxious to the factions in opposition as to 
those in administration, is not, perhaps, to be expect- 
ed till some years hence ; when the public will look 
back, and see how shamefully they have been de- 
luded, and by what arts they were made to lose the 
golden opportunity of preventing what they will 
surely experience, — a change of ministers, without a 
Ttiaterial change of measures, and without any secu- 
I'ity for a tottering constitution. But what cares Ju- 
nius for the security of the constitution ? He has now 
unfolded to us his diabolical principles. As a public 
man he must ever condemn any measure which may 
tend accidentally to gratify the sovereign ; and Mr 
Wilkes is to be supported and assisted in all his at- 
tempts (no matter how ridiculous and mischievous his 
projects) as long as he continues to be a thorn in i\t 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS in 

ktng^s side! The cause of the country, it seems, in the 
opinion of Junius, is merely to vex the liing; and any 
rascal is to be supported in any roguery, provided he 
can only thereby plant a thorn in the king's side. 
This is the very extremity of faction, and the last de- 
gree of pjlitu'al wickedness. Because lord Chatham 
has been ill treated by the king, and treacherously 
betrayed by the duke of Grafton, the latter is to be 
" the pillow on which Junius will rest his resentment;" 
and the public are to oppose the measures of govern- 
ment from mere motives of personal enmity to the 
sovereign ! These are the avowed principles of the 
man who, in the same letter, says, " If ever he should 
be convinced that I had no motive but to destroy 
Wilkes, he shall then be ready to do justice to my 
character, and to declare to the world, that he despi- 
ses me somewhat less than he does at present!" Had 
I ever acted from personal affection or enmity to Mr. 
Wilkes, I should justly be despised : but what does 
he deserve, whose avowed motive is personal enmity 
to the sovereign ? The contempt which 1 shoidd 
otherwise feel for the absurdity and glaring inconsis- 
tency of Junius, is here swallowed up in my abhor- 
rence of his principles. The right divine and sacrcd- 
ness of kings is to me a senseless jargon. It was 
thought a daring expression of Oliver Cromwell, in 
the time of Charles the First, that, if he found him- 
self placed opposite to the king in battle, he would 
discharge his piece into his bosom as soon as into 
any other man's. I go farther : had I lived in those 
days, I would not have waited for chance to give we 
an opportunity of doing my duly; I would have sougiil 
liiui through the ranks, and, without the least pe*- 



18 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Bonal enmity, have discliari^ed my piece into iiis 
bosom rather than into an\' other man's. The king, 
whose actions Justify rebellion to his government, 
deserves death from the hand of every subject. And 
should such a time arrive, I shall be as free to act as 
to say ; but, till then, my attachment to the person 
and family of the sovereign shall-ever be found more 
T.ealous and sincere than that of his flatterers. 1 
would offend the sovereign with as much reluctance 
as the parent : but if the happiness and security ol 
the whole family made it necessary, so far, and no 
farther, I would offend him without remorse. 

But let us consider a little whither these principles 
of Junius would lead us. Should Mr. Wilkes once 
iiiore commission Mr. Thomas Walpole to procure 
for him a pension of one thousand pounds, upon the 
Irish establishment, for thirty years, he must be sup- 
ported in the demand by the public, because it would 
mortify the king ! 

Should he wish to see lord Rockingham and his 
friends once more in administration, unclogged by 
any stipulations for the people, that he might again 
enjoy a pension of one thousand and forty pounds a 
year, viz. from the first lord of the treasury, 500/. 
from the lords «f the treasury, 60/. each : from the 
lords of trade, 40/. each, 8ic. the publ'c must give up 
their attention to points of national benefit, nnd assist 
Mr. Wilkes in his attempt, because it would mortify 
the king ! 

Should he demand the government of Canada, or 
of Jamaica, or the embassy to Constantinople, and, 
m case of refusal, threaten to write them down, as 
be Uiif' before served another administration, in a 



JUNILS'S LETTERS. 119 

/ear and a half, he must be supported in ins preten- 
sions, and upheld in his insolence, because it would 
mortify the king ! 

Junius may choose to suppose that these things 
cannot happen ! But, tiiat they have happened, not- 
withstanding Mr. Wilkes's denial, 1 do aver. I main- 
tain that Mr, Wilkes did commission Mr. Thomas 
Widpole to solicit for him a pension of one thousand 
pounds, on the Irish establishment, for thirty years j 
with which, and a pardon, he declared he would be 
satisfied: and that, notwithstanding his letter to Mr. 
Onslow, he did accept a clandestine, precarious, and 
eleemosynary pension from the Rockingham admin- 
istration, which they paid in proportion to, and out oi 
heir salaries ; and so entirely was it ministerial, that, 
as any of them went out of the ministry, their names 
were scratched out of the list, and they contributed 
no longer. I say, he did solicit the governments, 
and the embassy, and direatened their refusal nearly 
in these words : " It cost me a year and a half to 
write down the last administration ; should 1 employ 
as much time upon you, very few of you would be m 
at the death." When these threats did not prevail, 
'^e came over to England to embarrass them by his 
presence : and when he found that lord Rockingham 
was something firmer and more manly than he ex- 
pected, and refused to be bullied into what he could 
not perform, Mr. Wilkes declared that he could not 
leave England without money and tlve duke of Port- 
land and lord Rockingham purchased his absence 
with one hundred pounds a-piece, with which he re- 
turned to Paris. And for the truth of what I here 
advance, I appeal to the duke of Portland, to lord 



120 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Rockingham, to John lord Cavendish, to Mr. Wal 
pole, &ic. I appeal to the hand-writing of Mr. Wilkes, 
which is still extant. 

Should Mr. Wilkes afterwards (failing in thi3 
wholesale trade) choose to dole out his popularity 
by the pound, and expose the city offices to sale to 
his brother, l..s attorney he. Junius will tell uSj 
it is only an ambition that he has to make them 
chamberlain, town clerk, &.c. and he must not be 
opposed in thus robbing the ancient citizens of their 
birthright, because any defeat of Mr. Wilkes would 
gratify the king ! 

Should he, after consuming the whole of his own 
fortune and that of his wife, and incurring a debt ol 
twenty thousand pounds, merely by his own private 
extravagance, withoi\t a single service or exertion al 
this time for the public, whilst his estate remained ; 
should he, at length, being undone, commence patriot; 
have the good fortune to be illegally persecuted, and, 
in consideration of that illegality, be espoused by a 
few gentlemen of the purest public principles: should 
his debts, though none of them were contracted for 
the public, and all his otiier encumbrances, be dis- 
charged; should he be oflered GOOZ. or 1000/. a year 
to make him independent for the future ; and should 
he, after all, instead of gratitude for these services, 
msolently forbid his benefactors to bestow their own 
money upon any other object but himself, and revile 
them for setting any bounds to their supplies; Junius 
(who, any more than lord Chatham, never contributed 
one farthing to these enormous expenses) will tell 
them, that if hey think of converting the supplies of 
Mr. Wilkes's private extravagance to the support of 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 121 

public measures, tliey are as great fools as my grand- 
mother ; and that Mr. Wilkes ought to hold the strings 
of their purses, as long as he continues to be a thorn 
in the king's side ! 

Upon these principles I never have acted, and I 
never will act. In my opinion, it is less dishonoura- 
ble to be the creature of a court, than the tool of a 
faction. I will not be either. I understand the two 
great leaders of opposition to be lord Rockingham 
and lord Chatham ; under one of whose banners all 
the opposing members of both houses, who desire to 
get places, enlist. I can place no confidence in either 
of them, or in any others, unless they will now engage, 
whilst they ure out, to grant certain essential advan- 
tages for the security of the public when they shall 
be in administration. These points they refuse to 
stipulate, because they are fearful lest they should 
prevent any future overtures from the court. To 
force them to these stipulations has been the uniform 
endeavour of Mr. Sawbridge, Mr. Townshend, Mr. 
Oliver, &ic. and therefore they are abused by Junius. 
I know no reason, but my zeal and industry in the 
same cause, that should entitle me tc the honour ot 
being ranked by his abuse with persons of their for- 
tune and station. It is a duty I owe to the memory 
of the late Mr. Beckford, to say, that he had no other 
aim than this, when he provided that sumptuous en- 
tertainment at the Mansion House, for the members 
of both houses in opposition. At that titre, he drtw 
up the heads of an engagement, which he gave to me, 
with a request that I would couch it in terms so cau 
tious and precise, as to leave no room for future 

quibble and evasion ; but to oblige them either to 
VOL. »i. ^' 



122 JUNIUS 'S LETTERS. 

fulfil the intent of the obligation, or to sign their own 
infamy, and leave it on record ; and this engagement 
he was determined to propose to them at the Mansion 
House, that either by their refusal they might forfeit 
the confidence of the public, or, by the engagement^ 
lay a foundation for confidence. 

When they were informed of the intention, lord 
Rockingham and his friends flatly refused any en- 
gagement ; and Mr. Beckford as ilatly swore, they 
should then " eat none of his broth ;" and he was 
determined to put off the entertainment ; but Mr 
Beckford was prevailed upon by * * * to indulge 
them in the ridiculous parade of a popular proces 
bion through the city, and to give them the foolish 
pleasure of an imaginary consequence, for the real 
benefit only of the cooks and purveyors. 

It was the same motive which dictated the thanks ol 
the city to lord Chatham ; which were expressed to be 
given for his declaration in favour oi short parliaments^ 
in order thereby to fix lord Chatham, at least, to that 
one constitutional remedy, without which all othert 
can afford no security. The embarrassment, no doubt» 
was cruel. He had his choice, either to oflend the 
Rockingham party, who declared formally against 
short parliaments, and with the assistance of whose 
numbers in both houses he must expect again to be 
minister, oi* to give up the confidence of the public, 
from whom, finally, all real consequence must pro- 
ceed. Lord Chatham chose the latter; and I will 
venture to say, that, by his answer to those thanks, 
he has given up the people without gaining the 
friendship or cordial assistance of the Rockingham 
faction, whose little politics are confined tc the mak- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 123 

ng of matches, and extending their family connex- 
ions ; and who think they gain more by procuring 
one additional vote to their party in the house oi 
commons, than by adding their languid property, and 
feeble character, to the abilities of a Chatham, or the 
confidence of a public. 

Whatever may be the event of the present wretched 
state of politics in this country, the principles of Ju- 
nius will suit no form of government. They are not 
to be tolerated under any constitution. Personal en- 
mity is a motive fit only for the devil. Whoever, or 
whatever is sovereign, demands the respect and sup- 
port of the people. The union is formed for their 
happiness, which cannot be had without mutual res- 
pect; and he counsels maliciously who would per- 
suade either to a wanton breach of it. When it is 
banished by either party, and when every method 
has been tried in vain to restore it, there is no reme- 
dy but a divorce ; but even then he must have a 
hard and a wicked heart indeed, who punishes the 
greatest criminal merely for the sake of the punish- 
ment ; and who does not let fell a tear for every drop 
jf bloai that is shed in a public struggle, however 
just the quarrel. 

JOHN HORNE 



121 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 



LIIl. 



To the Vt inter of the Public J^dt^rttser . 

SIR, August 15, 1771 

I ought to make an apology to the duke of Graf 
ton, for suffering any part of my attention to be di- 
verted from his grace to Mr. Home. I am not justi- 
fied by the similarity of their dispositions. Private 
vices, however detestable, have not dignity sufficient 
to attract the censure of the press, unless they are 
united with the power of doing some signal mischief 
to the community. Mr. Home's situation does not 
correspond with his intentions. In my opinion, (which 
I know will be attributed to my usual vanity and pre- 
sumption) his letter to me does not deserve an answer. 
But I understand that the public are not satisfied with 
my silence; that an answer is expected from me; and 
that if I persist in refusing to plead, it will be taken 
for conviction. I should be inconsistent with the 
principles I profess, if I declined an appeal to the good 
sense of the people, or did not willingly submit m'y- 
self to the judgment of my peers. 

If any coarse expressions have escaped me, I am 
ready to agree that they are unfit for Junius to make 
use of; but I see no reason to admit that they have 
been improperly applied. 

Mr. Home, it seems, is unable to comprehend how 
an extreme want of conduct and discretion can con 
sist with the abilities I have allowed him ; nor can be 



JUNIUS'S LLT'ILRS. 125 

tonceive thai a very honest man, with a very good 
understanding, may be deceived by a knave. His 
knowledge of human nature must be limited indeed. 
Had he never mixed with the world, one would have 
thought that even his books might have taught him 
better — Did he hear lord Mansfield when he defended 
his doctrine concerning libels ? Or when he stated the 
law in prosecutions f<ir criminal conversation? Or 
when he delivered his reasons for calling the house ol 
lords together to receive a copy of his charge to the jury 
in Woodfall's trial ? Had he been present upon any 
of these occasions, he would have seen how possible it 
is for a man of the first talents to confound himself 
in absurdities, which woukl disgrace the lips of an 
idiot. Perhaps the example might have taught him 
not to value his own understanding so highly. Lord 
Lyttleton's integrity and judgment are unquestiona- 
ble; yet he is known to admire that cunning Scotch- 
man, and verily believes him an honest man. I 
speak to facts, with which all of us are conversant. 
I speak to men, and to their experience; and will not 
descend to answer the little sneering sophistries of a 
collegian. Distinguished talents are not necessarily 
connected with discretion. If there be any thing re- 
markable in the character of Mr. Home, it is, that 
extreme want of judgment should be united with his 
very moderate capacity. — Yet I have not forgotten 
the acknowledgment 1 made him ; he owes it to mv 
bounty : and though his letter has lowered him in my 
opinion, I scorn to retract the charitable donation. 

I said it would be very difficult for Mr. Home to 
write directly in defence of a ministerial measure, and 
not to be detected, and even that difficulty I confined 



126 JUNIUS^S LETTLRS. 

to his particular situation. He changes he terms of 
the proposition, and supposes me to assert, that it 
would be impossible for any man to write for tlie 
newspapers, and not be discovered. 

He repeatedly affirms, or intimates at least, that he 
knows the author of these letters. With what colour 
of truth, then, can he pretend, " That I am no where 
to be encountered but in a newspaper ?" I shall leave 
him to his suspicions. It is not necessary that I should 
confide in the honour and discretion of a man, who 
already seems to hate me with as much rancour as i( 
[ had formerly been his friend. But he asserts, that 
he has traced me through a variety of signatures. 
To make the discovery of any importance to his pur- 
pose, he should have proved, either that the fictitious 
character of Junius has not been consistently sup- 
ported, or thrit the author has maintained different 
principles under diflerent signatures. 1 cannot recall 
to my memory the numberless trifles I have written ; 
but I rely upon the consciousness of my own integri- 
ty, and defy him to fix any colourable charge of in- 
consistency upon me. 

I am not bound to assign the secret motives of his 
apparent hatred of Mr. Wilkes : nor does it follow 
that I may not judge fairly of his conduct, though 
it were true that I had no conduct of my own. Mr. 
Ilorne enlarges with rapture upon the importance ol 
his services ; the dreadful battles which he might have 
been engaged in, and the dangers he has escaped. In 
support of the formidable description he quotes verses 
without mercy. The gentleman deals in fiction, and 
naturally appeals to the evidence of the poets. Taking 
him at his word, he cannot but admit the superiority 



JTJNIUS'S LETTERS. 127 

ik( Wr. Wilkes in this line of service. On one side< 
wt see nothing but imaginary distress ; on the otiier, 
wo see real prosecutions ; real penalties ; real impri- 
soi ment ; life repeatedly hazarded ; and, at one mo- 
ment, almost the certainty of death. Thanks are 
undoubtedly due to every man who does his duty in 
the engagement, but it is the wounded soldier who 
deserves the reward. 

I did not mean to den}', that Mr. Home had been 
an active partizan. It would defeat my own purpose 
not to allow him a degree of merit which aggravates 
his guilt. The very charge " of contributing his ut- 
most efforts to support a ministerial measure," implies 
an acknowledgment of his former services. If he had 
not once been distinguished by his apparent zeal in 
defence of the common cause, he could not now be 
distinguished by deserting it. As for myself, it is no 
longer a question, " Whether I shall mix with the 
ihrong, and take a single share in the danger." 
Whenever Junius appears, he must encounter a host 
of enemies. But is there no honourable way to serve 
ihe Dublic, without engaging in personal quarrels with 
insignificant individuals, or submitting to the drud- 
gery of canvassing votes for an election .'' Is therf 
ISO merit in dedicating my life to the information oi 
my fellow-subjects,'' What public question have 1 
declined ? What villain have I spared ? Is there no 
.abour in the composition of tiiese letters ? Mr. 
Home, 1 fear is partial to me, and measure* the fa- 
cility of my writings by the fluency of his own. 

He talks to us in high terms of the gallant feats he 
would have performed if he had lived in the last cen- 
tury The unhappy Charles could hardly have es- 



128 JUNILS'S LETTERS. 

caped hira. But living princes have a cla rn to hu 
attachment and respect. Upon these terms, there is 
no danger in being a patriot. If he means any thing 
more than a pompous rhapsody, let us iry how well 
his argument holds together. 1 presume he is not yet 
so much a courtier as to affirm that the constitution 
has not been grossly and daringly violated under the 
present reign. He will not say, that the laws have 
not been shamefully broken or perverted ; that the 
rights of the subject have not been invaded ; or, that 
redress has not been repeatedly solicited and refused. 
Grievances, like these, were the foundation of the re- 
bellion in the last century ; and, if I understand Mr. 
Home, they would, at that period, have justified 
him, to his own mind, in deliberately attncking the 
life of his sovereign. I shall not ask him, to what 
political constitution this doctrine can be recoivriled : 
but, at least, it is incumbent upon him to show, that 
the present king has betier excuses than Char'es the 
First, for the errors of his government. He ought 
to demonstrate to us, that the constitution \vas better 
understood a hundred years ago, than it is at presenJ; 
that the legal rights of the subject, and the limits o( 
the prerogative, were more accurately defined, and 
more clearly comprehended. If propositions like 
these cannot be fairly maintained, I do not see how 
he can reconcile it to his conscience, not to act im 
mediately with the same freedom with which he speaks 
[ reverence the character of Charles the First as lit- 
tle as Mr. Home ; but I will not insult his misfor- 
tunes by a comparison that would degrade him. 

It is worth observing, b}' what gentle degrees the 
'urious, persecuting zeal of Mr. Home has softened 



JUNILS'S LETTERS. 129 

into moderation. Men and measures were yesterday 
his object. What pains did he once take to bring that 
great state criminal M*" Quirk to execution ! To-day 
he confines himself to measures only ; no penal ex- 
ample is to be left to the successors of the duke ol 
Crafton. To-morrow, I presume, both men and 
measures will be forgiven. The flaming patriot, who 
so lately scorched us in the meridian, sinks temper- 
ately to the west, and is hardly felt as he descends. 

I comprehend the policy of endeavouring to com- 
municate to Mr. Oliver and Mr. Sawbridge a share 
in the reproaches with which he supposes me to have 
loaded him. My memory fails me, if I have men- 
tioned their names with disrespect; unless it be re- 
proachful to acknowledge a sincere respect for the 
character of Mr. Sawbridge, and not to have ques- 
tioned the innocence of Mr. Oliver's intentions. 

I I seems I am a partizan of the great leader of the 

opposition. If the charge had been a reproach, it 

should have been better supported. I did not intend 

to make a public declaration of the respect I bear lord 

Chatham ; I well knew what unworthy conclusions 

would be drawn from it. But I am called upon to 

deliver ray opinion ; and surely it is not in the little 

censure of Mr. Home to deter me from doing signal 

justice to a man, who, I confess, has grown upon my 

esteem. As for the common sordid views of avarice, 

or any purpose of vulgar ambition, I question whether 

Oie applause of Junius would be of service to lord 

Chatham. My vote will hardly recommend him to 

an increase of his pension, or to a seat in the cabinet. 

But, if his ambition be upon a level with his under- 

ttanding, if he judges of what is truly honoinable 
F 2 <i 



130 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

for himself, with the same superior genius whi( h an - 
mates and directs him to eloquence in debate, to wis- 
dom m decision, even the pen of Junius shall con 
tribute to regard him Recorded honours shall gath- 
er round his monument, and thicken over him It is 
a solid fabric, and will support the laurels that adorn 
it. I am not conversant in the language of panegyric. 
These praises are extorted from me ; but they will 
wear well, for they have been dearly earned. 

My detestation of the duke of Grafton is not found- 
ed upon his treachery to any individual ; though I 
am willing enough to suppose, that, in public affairs, 
it would be impossible to desert or betray lord Chat- 
ham, without doing an essential injury to this coun- 
try. My abhorrence of the duke arises from an inti- 
mate knowledge of his character, and from a thorough 
conviction that his baseness has been the cause oi 
greater mischief to England, than even the unfortu- 
nate ambition of lord Bute. 

The shortening the duration of parliaments is a 
subject on which Mr. Home cannot enlarge too warm- 
ly, nor will I question his sincerity, if I did not 
profess the same sentiments, I should be shamefully 
inconsistent with myself. It is unnecessary to bind 
lord Chatham by the written formality of an engage- 
ment. He has pul)licly declared himself a convert 
to triennia parliaments ; and though I have long 
been convinced, that this is the only possible resource 
we have left to preserve the substantial freedom of the 
constitution, I do not think we have a right to deter- 
mine against the integrity of lord Rockingham or his 
friends. Other measures may undoubtedly be sup- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 131 

ported in argument, as better adapted to (he disorder, 
or more likely to be obtained. 

Mr. Home is well assured that I never was tl e 
champion of Mr Wilkes. But though I am nol 
obliged to answer for the firmness of his future adhe- 
rence to the principles he professes, I have no reason 
to presume that he will hereafter disgrace them. As 
for all those imaginary cases which Mr. Home so 
petulantly urges against me I have one plain honest 
answer to make him. Whenever Mr. Wilkes shall 
be convicted of sd iciting a pension, an embassy, or 
a government, he must depart from that situation, 
and renounce that character, which he assumes at pre- 
sent, and whioh, in my opinion, entitles him to the 
support of the public. By the same act, and at the 
same moment, he will forfeit his power of mortifying 
the king : and though he can never be a favourite at 
St. James's, his baseness may administer a solid satis- 
faction to the royal mind. The man I speak of has 
not a heart to feel for the frailties of his fellow-crea- 
tures. It is their virtues that afflict, it is their vi«"es 
that console him. 

I give every possible advantage to Mr. Home, 
when I take the facts he refers to for granted. That 
tliey are the produce of his invention, seems highly 
probable; that they are exaggerated, I have no doubt. 
At the worst, what do they amount to.^* but that Mr. 
Wilkes, who never was thought of as a perfect pat; ern 
of morality, has not been at all times proof agaiist 
the extremity of distress. How shameful is it in a 
man who has lived in friendship with him, to reproach 
bim with failings too naturally connected \\\lh des 
oaii' f* Is no nil nvance to be made for banishmeM 



132 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

and ruin ? Does a two years' imprisonment make 
no atonement for his crimes ? The resentment of a 
priest is implacable : no sufferings can soften, no 
penitence can appease him. Yet he himself, I think, 
upon his own system, has a multitude of political of- 
fences to atone for. 1 will not insist upon the nause- 
ous detail with which he so long disgusted the pub- 
lic ; he seems to be ashamed of it. But what excuse 
will he make to the friends of the constitution, fc.i 
labouring to promote this consummately bad man to 
a station of the highest national trust and imporf- 
ance? Upon what honourable motives did he recom- 
mend him to the livery of London for their represen- 
tive ; to the ward of Farringdon for their alder- 
man ; to the county of Middlesex for their knight ^ 
Will he affirm, that, at that time, he was ignorant o. 
Mr, Wilkes's solicitations to the ministry? That he 
should say so, is, indeed, very necessary for his own 
justification ; but where will he find credulity to be- 
lieve him ? 

In what school this gentleman learned his ethics, I 
knovV not. His logic seems to have been studied un- 
der Mr. Dyson. That miserable pamphleteer, divid- 
ing the only precedent in point, and taking as much 
of it as suited his purpose, had reduced kis argument 
upon the IMiddlcsex election to something like the 
shape of a syllogism. ISIr. Home has conducted 
himself with the same ingenuity and candour. 1 had 
affirmed, that Mr. Wilkes would preserve the public 
fa ^our, " as long as he stood forth against a minis- 
try and parliament, who were doing every thing they 
could to enslave the coimtry and as long as he was 
a thorn in the king's side." Yet, from the exultnig 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 133 

tnumph of Mr. Home's reply, one would think that 
I had rested my expectation that Mr. Wilkes would 
be supported by the public, upon the single condition 
of his mortifying the king. This may be logic at 
Cambridge, or at the treasury ; but, among men ot 
sense and honour, it is folly or villany in the ex- 
treme. 

I see the pitiful advantage he has taken of a single 
unguarded expression, in a letter not intended for the 
public. Yet it is only the expression that is unguard- 
ed. I adhere to the true meaning of that member of 
the sentence, taken separately as he takes it ; and 
now, upon the coolest deliberation, re-assert, that, 
for the purposes I referred to, it may be highly meri- 
torious to the public, to wound the personal feelings 
t)f the sovereign. It is not a general proposition, nor 
is it generally applied to the chief njagistrate of this, 
or any other constitution. Mr. Home knows, as well 
as I do, that the best of princes is not displeased with 
the abuse which he sees thrown upon his ostensible 
ministers. It makes tliem, I presume, more properly 
tlie objects of his royal compassion. Neither does 
it escape his sagacity, that the lower they are de- 
graded in the public esteem, the more submissively 
they must depend upon his favour for protection. 
This I affirm, upon the most solemn conviction, and 
the most certain knowledge, is a leading maxim in 
he policy of the closet. It is unnecessary to punsue 
the argument any fartlier. 

Mr. Home is now a very loyal subject. He laments 
the wretched state of politics in this country; and 
sees, in a new light, the weakness and folly of the 
opposition. " Whoever, or whatever, is sovereign 



34 JUNIUS-S LETTERS. 

demands the respect and support of the people:"* /t 
vvMs not so " when Nero fiddled while Rome was 
burning." Our gracious sovereign has had wonder- 
ful success in creating new attachments to his person 
and family. He owes it, I presume, to the regular 
system he has pursued in the mystery of conversion. 
He began with an experiment upon the Scotch, and 
concludes with converting Mr. Home. What a pity 
It is, that the Jews should be condemned by Provi- 
dence to wait for a Messiah of their own ! 

The priesthood are accused of misinterpreting the 
Scriptures. Mr. Home has improved upon his pro- 
fession. He alters the text, and creates a refutable 
doctrine of his own. Such artifices cannot long de- 
lude the understandings of the people; and, without 
meaning an indecent comparison, I may venture to 
foretell, that the Bible and Junius will be read, when 
the commentaries of the Jesuits are forgotten. 

JUNIUS. 



* The very soliloquv ^ lord Suffolk bffore Iw passed tbs 
Rubicon. ^ 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. ,35 



uv. 

To ihe Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, August 26, 1771. 

The enemies of the people having now nothing 
better to object to my friend Junius, are, at last, obli- 
ged to quit his politics, and to rail at him for crimes 
he is not guilty of. His vanity and impiety are now 
the perpetual topics of their abuse. I do not mean 
to lessen the force of such charges, supposing they 
were true, but to show that they are not founded. If 
I admitted the premises, I should readily agree in all 
the consequences drawn from them. Vanity, indeed, 
is a venial error, for it usually carries its own punish- 
ment with it ; but if I thought Junius capable of ut- 
tering a disrespectful word of the religion of his coun- 
try, I should be the first to renounce and give him 
up to the public contempt and indignation. As a 
man, I am satisfied that he is a Christian, upon the 
most sincere conviction : as a writer, he would be 
grossly inconsistent with his political principles, if he 
dared to attack a religion, established by those laws, 
which it seems to be the purpose of his life to defend. 
Now for the proofs. Junius is accused of an impious 
allusion to the holy sacrament, where he says, that, 
" if lord Weymouth be denied the cup, there would 
be no keeping him within the pale of the ministry." 
Now, sir, I affirm, that this passage refers entirely to 
a ceremonial in the Roman Catholic church, which 



136 JUNIUS'S LETTERb 

denies the cup to the laity. It has no manner of re 
lation to the protestant creed ; and is in this countr} 
as fair an object of ridicule as transubstantiation, oi 
any other part of lord Peter's History, in the Tale o 
aTuh. 

But Junius is charged with equal vanity and im- 
pietj', in comparing his writings to the Holy Scrip- 
tures. The formal protest he makes against any such 
comparison avails him nothing. It becomes neces- 
sary then to show that the charge destroys itself. It 
he be vain, he cannot be impious. 

A vain man does not usually compare himself to 
an object which it is i»is design to undervalue." On 
the other hand, if he be impious, he cannot be vain ; 
for his impiety, if any, must consist in his endeavour- 
ing to degrade the Holy Scriptures, by a comparison 
tvith his own contemptible writings. This would be 
folly, indeed, of the grossest nature ; but where lies 
the vanity .'' I sliall now be told, " Sir, wiiat you 
say is plausible enough ; but still you must allow, 
that it is shamefully impudent in Junius to tell us 
that his works will live as long as the Bible." My 
answer is, Agreed: hut first prove that he has said so. 
Look at his words, and you will find that the utmost 
he expects is, that the Bible and Junius will survive 
the commentaries of the Jesuits j which may prove 
true in a fortnight. The most malignant sagacity 
cannot show that his works are, in his opinion, to live 
as long as the Bible. Suppose I were to foretell, that 
Jack and Tom would survive Harry, does it lollow 
that Jack must live as long as Tom .'' I would only 
illustrate my meaning, and protest against the leas! 
idea of profaaeness. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 137 

Yet this is the way in which Junius is usually 
answered, arraigned, and convicted. These candid 
critics never remember any thing lie says in honour 
ot' our holy religion: though it is true that one of 
his leading arguments is made to rest " upon tiie in- 
ternal evidence, which the purest of all religions 
carries with it" I quote his words ; and conclude 
from them, that he is a true and hearty christian, in 
substance, not in ceremony; though possibly he may 
not agree with my reverend lords the bishops, or with 
the head of the church, " that prayers are morality 
or tiiat kneeling is religion." 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



LV. 



From the Reverend Mr. Home to Junius. 

August 17, 1771. 

I congratulate you, sir, on the recovery of your 
wonted style, thougii it has cost you a fortnigiit. 1 
compassionate your labour in the composition of your 
letters, and will communicate to you the secret of my 
fluency. Truth need? no ornament ; and in my 
opinion, what she borrows of the pencil is deformity. 

You brought a positive charge against me of cor- 
ruption. I denied the charge, and called for your 
proofs. Yoo replied with abuse, and re-asserted 
your charge. 1 called again for proofs. You rcplv 
again with abuse only, and droj) your accusation. 



138 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

In your fortnight's letter, there is not one word uj.,on 
the subject of my corruption. 

I have no more to say, but to return thanks to you 
fo " yi"«r condescension, and to a grateful public, and 
honest ministry, for all the favours they have con- 
ferred upon me. The two latter, I am sure, will 
never refuse me any grace I shall solicit : and since 
you have been pleased to acKdovvledge, that you told 
a deliberate lie in my favour, out of bounty, and as a 
charitable donation, why may I not expect that you 
will hereafter (if you do not forget you ever men- 
tioned my name with disrespect) make the same ac- 
knowledgment for what you have said to my preju- 
dice ? This second recantation will perhaps, be more 
abhorrent from your disposition , but should you de- 
cline it, you will only afford one more instance, how 
much easier it is to be generous than just, and that 
men are sometimes bountiful wjjo are not honest. 

At all events, I am as well satisfied with panegyric 
as lord Chatham can be. Monument I shall have 
none ; but over my grave it will be said, in your own 
words, " Home's situation did not correspond with 
his intentions."* 

JOHN HORNE 



* The epitaph would not ht ill suited to the character j 
at llje best it is but equivocal. 



JUNIUS'S LETTKRS »39 



LVI 

TV hia Grace the Duke of Grafton. 

MY LORD, September 28, l??! 

The people of England are not apprised of the fu I 
extent of their obligations to you. The}' have yet no 
adequate idea of the endless variety of your character. 
They have seen you distinguished and successful in 
the continued violation of those moral and political 
duties, by which the little as well as the great socie- 
ties of life are connected and held together. Every 
colour, every character became you. With a rateol 
abilities which lord Weymouth very justly looks 
down upon with contempt, you have done as much 
mischief to the community as Cromwell would have 
done, if Cromwell had been a coward ; and as much 
as Machiavel, if Machiavel had not known that an 
appearance of morals and religion is useful in society. 
To a thinking man, the influence of the crown will, 
in no view, appear so formidable, as when he observes 
to what enormous exce^ses it has safely conducted 
your grace, without a ray of real understanding, 
without even the pretensions to common decency- or 
[.rinciple of any kind, or a single spark of personal 
resolution. VV^hal must be the operation of that per- 
nicious influence (for which our kings have wise'y 
exchanged the nugatory name of prerogative) that in 
the highesl stations can so abundantly supply the ab- 
st'uce of virtue, courage, and abilities, and qualify a 



140 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

man to be a minister of a great nation, whom a pri- 
vate gentleman would be ashamed and afraid to admit 
into his family ? Like the universal passport of an 
ambassador, it supercedes the prohibition of the laws 
banishes the staple virtues of the country, and intro- 
duces vice and folly triumphantly into all the depart- 
ments of the state. Other princes, besides his majesty, 
have had the means of corruption within their reach, 
but they have used it with moderation. In former 
times, corruption was considered as a foreign auxil- 
iary to government, and only called in upon extra- 
ordinary emergencies. The unfeigned piety, the 
sanctified religion of George the Third, have taught 
him to new model the civil forces of the state. The 
natural resources of the crown are no longer confided 
in. Corruption glitters in the van, collects and main- 
tains a standing army of mercenaries, and at the 
same moment impoverishes and enslaves the country. 
His majesty's predecessors (excepting that worthy 
family from which you, my lord, are unquestionably 
descended) had some generous qualities in their com. 
position, with vices, I confess, or frailties in abun- 
dance. They were kings or gentleuien, not hypo- 
crites or priests. They were at the head of the church, 
but did not know the value of their office. They 
said their prayers without ceremony, and had too 
little priestcraft in their understanding, to rcaoncile 
the sanctimonious forms of religion with the utter de- 
struction of the morality of their people. My lord, 
this is fact, not declamation. With all your partiality 
to the house of Stuart, you must confess, that even 
Charles the Second would have blushed at that open 
encour igemoni, at those eager, meretricious caresses 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 141 

with \vh ch every species of private vice and public 
prostitution is received at St. James's. The unfortu- 
nate house of Stuart has been treated with an asperity 
which, if comparison be a defence, seems to border 
upon injustice. Neither Charles nor his brother were 
qualified to support such a system of measures as: 
would be neccessary to change the government and 
subvert the constitution of England. One of them 
was too much in earnest in his pleasures, the other in 
his religion. But the danger to this country would 
cease to be problematical, if the crown should ever 
descend to a prince whose apparent simplicity might 
throw his subjects off their guard, who might be no 
libertine in behaviour, who should liave no sense of 
honour to restrain him, and who, with just religion 
enough to impose upon the nudtitude, might have no 
scruples of conscience to interfere with his morality. 
With these honourable qualifications, and the decisive 
advantage of situation, low craft and falsehood are 
all the abilities that are wanting to destroy the wisdom 
of ages, and to deface the noblest monument that 
human policy has erected. 1 know snch a man ; my 
lord, I know you both; and, with the blessing of God 
(for I, too, am religious) the people of England shall 
know you as well as I do. I am not very sure that 
greater abilities, would not, in eflect, be an impedi- 
ment to a design which seems at first sight to require 
a superior capacity. A better understanding might 
make him sensible of the wonderful beauty of that 
system he was endeavouring to corrupt ; the danger 
of the attempt might alarm him ; the meanness and 
intrinsic worthlessness of the object (supposing he 
could attain it) would fill him with shame, repentance 



!42 JUNIUS 'S LETTERS 

and disgus\ But these are sensations wliicli find 
no entrance into a barbarous, contracted heart. In 
some men there is a malignant passion to destroy the 
works of genius, literature, and freedom. The Van- 
dal and the monk find equal gratification i i it. 

Reflections like these, my lord, have a general 
relation to your grace, and inseparably attend you, 
in whatever company or situation your character 
occurs to us. They have no mmediate connexion 
with the following recent fact, which I lay before 
the public, for the honour of the best of sovereigns, 
and for the edification of his people. A prince 
(whose piety and self-denial, one would think, might 
secure him trom such a multitude of worldly necessi- 
ties,) with an annual revenue of near a million ster- 
ling, unfortunately ivanis money. The navy of Eng- 
land, by an equally strange occurrence of unforseen 
circumstances, (though not quite so unfortunately for 
his majesty,) is in equal want of timber. The world 
knows in what a hopeful condition yon delivered the 
navy to your successor, and in what a condition we 
found it in the moment of distress. You were deter- 
mined it should continue in the situation in which you 
left it. It happened, however, very luckily for the 
privy purse, that one of the above wants promised fair 
to supply the other. Our religious, benevolent, gene- 
rous sovereign has no objection to selling his own tim- 
ber to his own admiralty, to repair his own ships, nor 
to putting the money into his own pocket. People of 
a religious turn naturally adhere to the principles of 
the church ; whatever they acquire falls into mort- 
main. Upon a representation from the admiralty or 
the extraordinary want of timber for the indispensable 



JUMUS'S LETTERS. I43 

repairs of the navy, the surveyor-general »as ^Hiect- 
ed to make a survey of the timber in all the royal 
chases and /brests in England. Having obej'ed his 
orders with accuracy and attention, he reported thai 
the finest timber he had any where met with, and the 
properest, in every respect, for the purposes of the 
navy, was in Whittlebury Forest, of which your 
grace, I think, is hereditary ranger. In consequence 
of this report, the usual warrant was prepared at the 
treasury, and delivered to the surveyor, by which he. 
or his deputy, were authorised to cut down any trees 
in Whittlebury Forest, which should appear to be 
proper for the purposes above-mentioned. The 
deputy being informed that the warrant was signed, 
and delivered to his principal in London, crosses the 
country to Northamptonshire, and, with an officious 
zeal for the public service, begins to do his duty in 
the forest. Unfortunately for him, he had not the 
warrant in his pocket. The oversight was enormous ; 
and you have punished him for it accordingly. Yo« 
have insisted, that an active, useful officer should be 
dismissed from his place. You have ruined an inno- 
cent man and his family. In what language shall 1 
address so black, so coward!}' a tyrant ? Thou 
worse than one of the Rrunswicks, and all the Stuarts! 
To them who know lord North, it is unnecessary to 
say, that he was mean and base enough to submit to 
you. This, however, is but a small part of the fact. 
After ruining the surveyor's deputy, for acting without 
the warrant, you attacked the warrant itself. You 
declared that it was illegal ; and swore, in a fit oI 
foaming frantic passion, that it never should be exe- 
cuted. You asserted, upon your honour, that in the 



144 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

grant ol the rangership of Whittlebury Forest, made 
by Charles the Second (wljom with a modesty that 
wouh] do honour to Mr. Rigby, you are pleased to 
call your ancestor) to one of his bastards, (from 
whom I make no doubt of your descent,) the property 
of the timber is vested in the ranger. I have ex- 
amined the original grant ; and now, in the face o^ 
the public, contradict you directly upon the fact 
The very reverse of what you have asserted upon 
your honour is the truth. The grant, expressly, and 
by a particular clause, reserves the property of the 
timber for the iise of the crown. In spite of this 
evidence, in defiance of the representations of the 
admiralty, in perfect mockery of the notorious dis- 
tresses of the English navy, and those equally press- 
ing and almost equally notorious necessities of your 
pious sovereign, here the matter rests. The lords 
of the treasury, recall their warrant ; the deputy sur- 
veyor is ruined for doing his duty ; Mr. John Pitt 
(whose name, I suppose, is offensive to you) sub- 
mits to be brow-beaten and insulted ; the oaks keep 
their ground ; the king is defrauded ; and the navy 
of England may perish for want of the best and 
finest timber in the island. And all this is submit- 
ted to, to appease the duke of Grafton ! to gratify 
the man who has involved the king and his king- 
dom in confusion and distress ; and who, like a 
treacherous coward, deserted his sovereign in the 
midst of it ! 

There has been a strange alteration in your doc- 
trines, since you thought it advisable to rob the duke 
of Portland of his property, in order to strengthen 
the interest of lord Bute's son-in-law before the last 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 145 

general election. JSfuUum tempus occurrit resi was 
then your boasted motto, and the cry ot' all your 
hungry partizans. Now it seems a grant of Charles 
the Second to one of his bastards is to be held sa 
cred and inviolable ! It must not be questioned by 
tne king's servants, nor submitted to any interpreta- 
..on but your own. My lord, this was not the lan- 
guage you held, wken it suited you to insult the 
memory of the glorious deliverer of England from 
that detested family, to which you are still more 
nearly allied in principle than in blood. In the name 
of decency and common sense, what are your grace's 
merits, either with king or ministry, that should en- 
title you to assume this domineering authority over 
both ^ Is it the fortunate consanguinity you claim 
with the house of Stuart .'* Is it the secret corres- 
pondence you have so many years carried on with 
lord Bute, by the assiduous assistance of your cream- 
coloured parasite ? Could not your gallantry find 
sufficient employment for him in those gentle offices 
by which he first acquired the tender friendship of 
lord Barrington .'' Or is it only that wonderful sym- 
pathy of manners which subsists between your grace 
and one of your superiors, md does so much honour 
to you both ^ Is the union of Blifil and Black 
George no longer a romance ? From whatever ori- 
gin your influence in this country arises, it is a phe- 
nomenon in the history of human virtue and under- 
standing. Good men can hardly believe the fact : 
wise men are unable to account for it ; religious men 
find exercise for their faith, and make it the last ef- 
fort of their p'ety not to repine against Providence. 

JUNIUS. 

%0L. II. G 10 



i6 JUNIUS'S LETTERSI 



LVII. 

Addressed to the Lavery of Londo » 

GENTLEMEN, September 30, 177- 

If you alone were concerned in the event of the 
Pi esent election of a chief magistrate of the metropo- 
lis it would be the highest presumption in a stranger 
to aUempt to influence your choice, or even to offer 
you his opinion. But the situation of public affairs 
lias annexed an extraordinary importance to your 
resolutions. You cannot, in the choice of your ma- 
gistrate, determine for yourselves only. You are go- 
ing to determine upon a point, in which every mem - 
ber of the community is interested. J will not scruple 
to say, that the very being of that law, of that righc, 
of that constitution, for which we have been so long 
contending, is now at stake. They who would en- 
snare your judgment tell you, it is a common ondi- 
nar}' case, and to be decided by ordinary precedent 
and practice. The}' artfully conclude, from mode- 
rate peaceable times, to times which are not n)ode- 
rate, and which ought not to be peaceable. While 
they solicit your favour, they insist upon a rifle oi 
rotation, which excludes all idea of election. 

Let me be honoured with a few minutes of your 
attention. The question, to those who mean fairly 
to the liberty of the people (which we all profess to 
have in view,) lies within a very narrow compass. 
Do you mean to desert that jiist and honourable sys 



JUNIUS'S LLTTERS. 47 

tern of measures which you have hitherto puisued, in 
hopes of obtaining from parliament, or from the crown, 
a full redress of past grievances, and a security for 
the future ? Do you think the cause desperate, and 
will you declare that you think so to the whole peo 
pie of England ? If this be your meaning and 
opinion, you will act consistently with it in choosing 
Mr. Nash. I profess to be unacquainted with his 
private character; but he has acted as a magistrate, 
as a public man. As such I speak of him. I see his 
name in a protest against one of your remonstrances 
to the crown. He has done every thing in his power 
to destroy the freedom of popular elections in the 
city, by publishing the poll upon a former occasion , 
and I know, in general, that he has distinguished 
himself, by slighting and thwarting all those public 
measures wliich you have engaged in with the great- 
est warmth, and hitherto thought most worthy of you! 
approbation. From his past conduct, what conclu- 
sion will you draw but that he will act the same part 
as lord mayor, which he has invariably acted as alder- 
man and sheriff.^ He cannot alter his conduct with- 
out confessing that he never acted upon principle ol 
any kind. I should be sorry to injure the character 
of a man, who, perhaps, may be honesi in his inten 
tion, by supposii^ it possible that he can ever conrui 
with you in any political measure or opinion. 

If, on the other hand, you mean to persevere ir 
those resolutions for the public good, which, though 
not always successful, are always honourable, your 
choice wfll naturally incline to those men who (wha<- 
ever they be in other respects) are most likely to co- 
operate with you in the great purpose which you are 



148 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

determined not to relinquish. The question is not oi 
what metal your instruments are made, but whether 
they are adapted to the ivork you have in hand. Tiie 
honours of the city, in these times, are improperly, 
because exclusively, called a reward. You mean not 
merely to pay, but to rmploy. Are Mr. Crosby and 
Mr. Sawbridge likely to execute the extraordinary, 
as well as the ordinary, duties of lord mayor .f* Will 
they grant you common-halls when it shall be neces- 
sary ? Will they go up with remonstrances to the 
king ,'' Have they firmness enough to meet the fury 
of a venal house of commons ? Have they fortitude 
enough not to shrink at imprisonment ? Have thev 
spirit enough to hazard their lives and fortunes in a 
ontest, if it should be necessary, with a prostituted 
egislature t If these questions can fairly be answer- 
ed in the afliiniative, your choice is made. Forgive 
his p«is§ionaie language. I am unable to correct it. 
Th*" subject chines home to u» all. It is the language 
Df «iy heart. 

JUNIUS. 



LVIII. 

To the Pi inter of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, October 5, 1771. 

No man laments more sincerely than I do, the 
iini.appy differences which have arisen among the 
friends of the people, and divided then- from each 
other. The cause, undoubtedly, suffers as well by 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 149 

he diminut.on of that strength which unio»i carnes 
along with it, as by the separate loss of personal re- 
putation, which every man sustains when his charac- 
ter and conduct are frequently held forth in odious or 
contemptible colours These differences are only 
advantageous to the common enemy of the country. 
The hearty friends of the cause are provoked ana 
disgusted. The lukewarm advocate avails himself 
of any pretence, to relapse into that indolent indiffe- 
rence about every thing tiiat ought to interest an 
Englishman, so unjustly dignified with the title of 
moderation. The false, insidious partizan, who cre- 
ates or foments the disorder, sees the fruit of his dis- 
honest industry ripen beyond his hopes, and rejoices 
in the promise of a banquet, only delicious to such an 
appetite as his own. It is time for those who really 
mean the Cause and the People, who have no view 
to private advantage, and who have virtue enough to 
prefer the general good of the community to the gra- 
tification of personal animosities j it is time for such 
men to interpose. Let us try whether these fata 
dissensions miy not yet be reconciled ; or, if tiiat be 
impracticablt let us guard at least against the yvorsi 
effects of division, and endeavour to persuade these 
furious partizuns, if they will not consent to draw lO > 
gether, to be separately useful to, that lause which 
they all pret Mid to be attached to. Honour and 
honesty must lot be renounced, althouffh a thousand 
modes of right and wrong were lo occupy the degrees 
of morality between Zeno and Epicurus. The fun- 
damental principles of Christianity may still be pre- 
served, though every zealous sectary adheres to his 
own exclusive doctrine, and pious ecclesiastics makf 



150 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

t part of tliei'r religion to persecute one another. 
The civil constitution, too, that legal liberty, thaj 
general creed which every Englishman professes, 
may still he supported, though Wilkes and Home, 
and Townshend and Sawbridge, should obstinately 
refuse to communicate ; and even if the fathers of the 
church, if Savile, Richmond, Camden, Rockingham, 
and Chatham, should disagree in the ceremonies of 
their political worship, and even in the interpretation 
of twenty texts in Magna Charta. 1 speak to the 
people, as one of the people Let us employ these 
men in whatever departments jieir various abilities 
are best suited to, and as much to the advantage of 
the common cause, as their different inclinations will 
permit. They cannot serve us without essentially 
serving themselves. 

If Mr. Nash be elected, he will hardly venture, 
after so recent a mark of the personal esteem of his 
fellow-citizens, to declare himself inmiediately a cour- 
tier. The spirit and activity of the sheriffs will, I 
hope, be sufficient to counteract any sinister intentions 
of the lord mayor. In collision with tiieir virtue, 
perhaps, he may take fire. 

It is not necessary to exact from Mr. Wilkes the 
virtues of a Stoic. They were inconsistent with them- 
selves, who, almost at the same moment, represented 
him as the basest of mankind, yet seemed to expecl 
from him such instances of fortitude and self-denial, 
as would do honour to an apostle. It is not, how- 
ever, flattery to say, that he is obstinate, intrepid, and 
fertile in expedients. That he has no possible re- 
source but in the public favour, is, in my judgment, 
a considerable recommendation of him. T wish ihaJ 



JUN'IUS'S LETTERS. 16 

rvery man who pretended to popularity were tn tht 
same predicament. I wish that a retreat to St, 
James's were not so easy and open as patriots have 
found it. To Mr. Wilkes there is no access. How- 
ever he may be misled by passion or imprudence, F 
think he cannot be guilty of a deliberate treachery to 
the public. Tb.e favour of iiis country constitutes 
the shield which defends him against a thousand 
daggers. Desertion would disarm him. 

I can more readily admire the liberal spirit and 
integrity, than the sound judgment, of any man who 
prefers a republican form of government, in this or 
any other empire of equal extent, to a monarchy so 
qualified and limited as ours. I am convinced, that 
neither is it in theory the wisest system of govern- 
ment, nor practicable in this country. Yet, though 
I hope the English constitution will for ever preserve 
its original monarchical form, I would have the man- 
ners of the people purely and strictly republican. 1 
do not mean the licentious spirit of anarchy and riot. 
I mean a general attachment to the commonweal, 
distinct from any partial attachment to persons or 
families ; an implicit submission to the laws only ; 
and an affection to the magistrate, proportioned to 
the integrity and wisdom with which he distributes 
justice to his people, and administers their affairs. 
The present habit of our political body appears to 
me the very reverse of what it ought to be. The 
lorm of the constitution leans rather more than enough 
to the popular branch ; while, in effect, the manners 
of the people (of those at least who are likeiy to take 
a lead in the country) in line too generally to a de- 
pendence upon the crown The real friends of arlji- 



152 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Irary power combine the facts, and are not inconsis* 
ent witli tlieir jjiiiiciples, when they stienuousiy 
support the unwarrantable privileges assumed by ti\e 
house of commons. In these circumstances, it were 
nmcii to be desired, that we had many such men as 
Mr. Sawbridge to represent us in parliament. 1 
speak from common report and opinion only, when 1 
impute to him a speculative predilection in favour oi 
a republic. In the personal conduct and manners ol 
the man I cainiot be mistaken. He has shown him- 
self possessed of that republican firmness which the 
times require ; and by which an English gentlemar 
may be as usefully and as honourably distinguished, 
as any citizen of ancient Rome, of Athens, or Lace- 
demon. 

Mr. Townsliend complains that the public gratitude 
has not been answerable to his deserts. It is not 
difficult to trace the artifices which have suggested 
lO him a language so unworthy of his understanding. 
A great man commands the affections of the people 
a prudent man does not complain when he has lost 
them. Yet they are far from being lost to Mr. Town- 
shend. He has treated our opinion a little too cava- 
lierly. A young man is apt to rely too confidently 
upon himself, to be as attentive to his mistress as a 
polite and passionate lover ought to be. Perhaps he 
found her at first too easy a conquest. Yet I fancy 
she will be ready to receive him whenever he thinks 
proper to renew his addresses. With all his youth, 
his spirit, and his appearance, it would be indecent in 
the lady to solicit his return. 

have too much respect for the abilities of Mr. 
Home, to flatter myfelf that these gentlemen will evei 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 153 

be cordial.y re-united. It is not, however, (Mireason> 
able to expect, that each of them should act his sepa- 
rate part with honour and intefj^rity to the public. A« 
for difl'erences of opinion upon speculative questions, 
if we wait until they are reconciled, the action of hu- 
man affairs must be suspended forever. But neither 
are we to look for perfection in any one man, nor for 
agreement among many. When lord Chatham af- 
firms, that the authority of the British legislature is 
not supreme over the colonies in the same sense in 
which it is supreme over Great Britain ; when lord 
Camden supposes a necessity (which the king is to 
judge of,) and, foinided upon that necessity, attributes 
to the crown a legal power (not given by the act it- 
self,) to suspend the operation of an act of the legis- 
lature ; I listen to them both with diffidence and res- 
pect, but without the smallest degree of conviction or 
assent. Yet 1 doubt not they delivered their real 
sentiments, nor ought they to be hastily condemned. 
L too have a claim to the candid interpretation of my 
comitry, when 1 acknowledge an involuntary, com- 
pulsive assent to one very unpopular opinion. I 
lament the unhappy necessity, whenever it arises, ol 
providing for the safety of the state by a temporary 
invasion of the personal liberty of the subject. Would 
to God it were practicable to reconcile these impor- 
tant objects, in every possible situation of public 
afl'-iirs! I regard the legal liberty of the meanest 
man in Britain as much as my own, and would defend 
it with the same zeal. I know we must stand or fall 
togfther. But I never can doubt, that the community 
has a right to command, as well as to purchase, tiie 
service of its members. I see that right founded on- 



154 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ginallv upon a necessity which supersedes all argn 
meiit : I see it established by usage immemorial, and 
admitted by more than a tacit assent of the legislature 
I cone ude there is no remedy, in the nature of things 
for the grievance complained of; for, if there were, 
It must loi;g since have been redressed. Though 
numberless opportunities have presented themselves, 
highly favourable to public liberty, no successful at- 
tempt has ever been made fa the relief of the subject 
in this article. Yet it has been felt and complained 
of ever since England had a navy. The conditions 
which constitute this right must be taken together : 
separately, they have little weight. It is not fair to 
argue, from any abuse in the execution, to the ille- 
gality of the power ; much less is a conclusion to be 
drawn from the navy to the land service. A seaman 
can never be employed but against the enemies of his 
country. The only case in which the king can have 
a right to arm his subjects in general, is that of a 
foreign force being actually landed upon our coast. 
Whenever that case happens, no true Englishman will 
inquire whether the king's right to compel him to de- 
fend his country be the custom of England, or a grant 
of the legislature. With regard to the press for sea- 
men, it does not follow that the symptoms may not be 
softened, although the distemper cannot be cured. 
Let bounties be increased as far as the public purse 
can support them. Still they have a limit ; and when 
every reasonable expense is incurred, it will be found 
in fact, that the spur of the press is wanted to give 
r^peration to the bounty. 

Upon the whole I never had a doubt about the strict 
right of pressing until I heard that lord Mansfield 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 155 

hao ipplniulerl lord Chatham for delivering some- 
thing liUe this doctrine in the house of lords. That 
consideration staggered me not a little. But, upon 
reflection, his conduct accounts naturally for itself. 
He knew the doctrine was unpopular, and was 
eager to fix it upon the man who is the first object ot 
his fear and detestation. The cunning Scotchmar 
never speaks truth without a fraudulent design. In 
council, he generally' affects to take a moderate part 
Htsides his natural timidity, it makes part of his poli- 
tical plan, never to be known to recommend violent 
measures. When the guards are called forth to mur- 
der their fellow subjects, it is not by the ostensible 
advice of lord Mansfield. That odious office, his 
prudence tells him, is better left to such men as Gow- 
er and Weymouth, as Barrington and Grafton. Lord 
Hillsborough wisely confines his firmness to the dis- 
tant Americans, The designs of Mansfield are more 
subtle, more efl'ectual, and secure. Who attacks the 
liberty of the press ? Lord Mansfield. Who invades 
the constitutional power of juries ? Lord Mansfield. 
What judge ever challenged a juryman but lord 
Mansfield .'* Who was iliat judge, who, to save the 
king's brother, affirmed that a man of the first rank 
and quality, who obtains a verdict in a suit for crimi- 
nal conversation, is entitled to no greater damages 
than the meanest mechanic .'' Lord Mansfield. Who 
is it makes commissioners of t!ie great seal ? Lord 
Mansfield. Who is it that forms a decree for those 
commissioners, deciding against lord Chatham, and 
afterwards (finding himself opposed by the judges) 
declares, in parliament, that he never had a doubt 
that the law was 'u direct opposition to that decree ? 



156 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Ijord Mansfield. Who is he that has maJe it lhf> 
study and practice of his life to undermine and alter 
the Wiiole system of jurisprudence in the court oi 
king's bench ? Lord Mansfield. There never ex- 
isted a man but himself who answered exactly to so 
complicated a description. Compared to these enoi- 
mities, his original attachment to the Pretender (to 
whom his dearest brother was confidential secretary) 
is a virtue of the first magnitude. But the hour of 
impeachment will come, and neither he nor Grafton 
shall escape me. Now let them make common 
cause against England and the house of Hanover. 
A Stuart and a Murray should sympathise with each 
other. 

When I refer to signal instances of unpopular opin- 
ions, delivered and maintained by men, who may well 
be supposed to have no view but the public good, I 
do not mean to renew the discussion of such opinions. 
I should be sorry to revive the dormant questions of 
Stamp Actj Corn Bill, or Press Warrant. I mean 
only to illustrate one useful proposition, which it is 
the intention of this paper to inculcate, " That we 
should not generally reject the friendship or services 
of any man, because he differs from us in a particu- 
lar opinion." This will not appear a superfluous 
caution, if we observe the ordinary conduct of man- 
kind. In public afi'airs- there is the least chance of a 
perfect concurrence of sentiment or inclination : yet 
every man is able to contribute something to the 
common stock, and no man's contribution should be 
rejected. If individuals have no virtues, their vices 
may be of use to us I care not with what principle 
the new-born patriot is animated if the measures he 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 157 

supports are beneficial to the community. The na- 
tion is interested in his conduct. His motives are 
his own. Tiie properties of a patriot are perishable 
in the individual ; but there is a quick succession of 
subjects, and the breed is worth preserving. The 
spirit of the Americans may be an useful example to 
us. Our dogs and horses are only English upon 
English ground; but patriotism, it seems, may be 
improved by transplanting. I will not reject a bill 
which tends to confine parliamentary privilege with- 
in reasonable bounds, though it should be stolen from 
the house of Cavendish, and introduced by Mr. On- 
slow. The features of the infant are a proof of the 
descent, and vindicate the noble birth from the base- 
ness of the adoption. I willingly accept of a sarcasm 
from colonel Barre, or a simile from Mr. Burke 
Even the silent vote of Mr. Calcraft is worth reckon- 
ing i,i a division. What though he riots in the plun- 
der of the army, and has only determined to be a 
patriot when he could not be a peer ? Let us profit 
by the assistance of such men while they are with us 
and place them, if it be possible, in the post of dan- 
ger, to prevent desertion. The wary Wedderburne, 
the pompous Suffolk, never threw away the scabbard, 
nor ever went upon a forlorn hope. They always 
treated the king's servants as men with whom, some 
time or other, they might probably be in friendship 
When a man, who stands forth for the public, has 
gone that length from which there is no practicable 
retreat, when he has given that kind of personal of- 
fence, which a pious monarch never pardons, I then 
begin to think him in earnest, and that he will never 
have occasion to solicit the forgiveness of liis rount-v. 



158 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

But instances of a determination so entire and unr«- 
p.erved are rarely met with. Let us take mankind as 
they are ; let us distribute the virtues and abilities ol 
individuals according to the offices they affect; and, 
when they quit the service, let us endeavour to sup- 
ply their places with better men than we have lost. 
In this country there are always candidates enough 
for popular favour. The temple of fame is the short- 
est passage to riches and preferment. 

Above all things, let me guard my countrymen 
against the meanness and folly of accepting of a tri- 
fling or moderate compensation for extraordinary and 
essential injuries. Our enemy treats us as the cun- 
ning trader does the unskilful Indian ; they magnify 
their generosity, when they give us baubles of little 
proportionate value for ivory and gold. The same 
house of commons, who robbed the constituent body 
of their right of free election; who presume to niake 
a law, mider pretence of declaring it ; who paid our 
good king's debts, without once inquiring how they 
were incurred ; who gave thanks for repeated mur- 
ders committed at home, and for national infamy in- 
curred abroad ; who screened lord Mansfield ; wlio 
imprisoned the magistrates of the metropolis for as- 
serting the subject's right to the protection of the 
laws; who erased a judicial record, and ordered all 
oroceedings in a criminal suit to be suspended : this 
very house of commons have graci»u-sly consented 
that their own members may be compelled to pay their 
debts, and that contested elections shall, for the future, 
be determined with some decent regard to the merits 
of thh case. The event of the suit is of no conse- 
quence to the crown. W^. ile parliaments arc seoten- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 159 

nial, the purchase of the sitting member, or of the 
petitioner, makes but the difference of a day. C on- 
cessions such as these are of little moment to the 
sum of things ; unless it be to prove that the worst 
of men are sensible of the injuries they have done us, 
and perhaps to demonstrate to us the imminent dan- 
ger of our situation. In the shipwreck of the state, 
trifles float, and are preserved ; while every thing 
solid and valuable sinks to the bottom, and is los* 
for ever. 

JUNIUS. 



UX. 

To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

SIR, October 15, 1771 

I am convinced that Junius is incapable of wilfully 
misrepresenting any man's opinion, and that his incli- 
nation leads him to treat lord Camden with particu- 
lar candour and respect. The doctrine attributed 
to him by Junius, as far as it goes, corresponds with 
that stated by your correspondent Sceevola, who 
seems to make a distinction without a difference. 
Lord Camden, it is agreed, did certainly maintain, 
that, in the recess of parliament, the king (by which 
we all mean the king in council, or the executive 
power) might suspend the operation of an act of the 
legislature; and he founded his doctrine upon a sud 
posed necessity, of which the king, in the first instance, 
must be judge. The lords and commons cannoi be 



I6C JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

judges of it in the first instance, for they do not exist 
Thus far Junius. 

But, says Scsevola, lord Camden made parliament, 
and not the king, judges of the necessity. That par- 
liament may review the acts of ministers, is unques- 
tionable ; but there is a wide difference between say- 
ing, that the crown has a legal power, and that the 
ministers may act at their peril. When we say that 
an act is illegal, we mean that it is forbidden by a 
joint resolution of the three estates. How a subse- 
quent resolution of two of those branches can make 
it lega), ah initio, will require explanation. If it 
could, the consequence would be truly dreadful, es- 
pecially in these times. There is no act of arbitrary 
power which the king might not attribute to necessity, 
and for which he would not be secure of obtaining 
the approbation of his prostituted lords and conmions. 
If lord Camden admits, that the subsequent sanction 
of parliament was necessary to make the proclama- 
tion legal, why did he so obstinately oppose the bill, 
which was soon after brought in, for indemnifying all 
those persons who had acted under it? If that bill 
had not been passed, I am ready to maintain, in 
direct contradiction to lord Camden's doctrine, (taken 
as Scsevola states it) that a litigious exporter of corn, 
who had suffered in his property, in consequence ot 
the proclamation, might have laid his action against 
the custom-house officers, and would infallibly have 
.•ecovered damages. No jury could refi se them . 
and if I, who am by no means litigious, had been so 
injured, I would assuredly have instituted a suit in 
VVestminster-hall, on purpose to try the question o! 
light 1 would have done it up in a princi|>le of de- 



JCxNIUS'S LETTERS. 161 

fiance of the pretended power of either or both houses 
to make declarations inconsistent with law ; and 1 
have no doubt that, widi an act of parliament on my 
side, I should have been too strong for them all. This 
is the way in which an Englishman should speak and 
act, and not softer dangerous precedents to be estab- 
lished, becaust the circumstances are favourable or 
palliating. 

With regard to lord Camden, the truth is, that he 
inadvertently overshot himself, as appears plainly by 
that unguarded mention of a tyranny of forty days, 
which I myself heard. Instead of asserting, that the 
proclamation was legal, he should have said, " My 
lords, I know the proclamation was illegal; but I 
advised it, because it was indispensably necessary to 
save the kingdom from famine ; and I submit myself 
to the justice and mercy of my country." 

Such language as this would have been manly, 
rational, and consistent ; not unfit for a lawyer, and 
every way worthy of a great man. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 

P. S. If Scaevola should think proper to write 
again upon this subject, I beg of him to give me a 
direct answer; that is, a plain affirmative or negative, 
to the following questions : — In the interval between 
the publishing such a proclamation (or order of coun- 
cil) as that in question, and its receiving the sanction 
of the two houses, of what nature is it.'' Is it legal or 
illegal'? Or, is it neither one nor the other? I mean 
to be candid, and will point out to him the conse- 
quence of his answer either way. If it be legal, it 

wants no farther sanction: if it be illegal, the subject 

11 



162 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

is not bound to obey it, consequently it is an useless^ 
nue::itory act, even as to its declared purpose. Be- 
lore the meeting of parliament, the whole misrhiel 
which it means to prevent will have been completed. 



LX. 

To Zeno. 

SIR, October 17, 1771. 

The sophistry of your letter in defence of lord 
Mansfield is adapted to the character you defend. 
But lord Mansfield is a man of form, and seldom in 
his behaviour transgresses the rules of decorum. 
I shall imitate his lordship's good manners, and 
leave you in full possession of his principles. I 
will not call you liar, Jesuit, or villain ; but, with 
all the politeness imaginable, perhaps I may prove 
you so. 

Like other fair pleaders in lord Mansfield's 
school of justice, you answer Junius by misquoting 
his words, and mistaking his propositions. If I am 
candid enough to admit, that this is the very logic 
taught at St. Omer's, you will readily allow, that this 
is the constant practice in the court of king's bencii. 
Junius does not say that he never had a doubt about 
the strict right of pressing, till he knew lord J\Ians- 
field was of the same opinion. His words are, " until 
he heard that lord Mansfield had applauded lord 
Chatham for maintaining that doctrine in the house 
of lords." It was not the accidental concurrence ol 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 165 

lord Mansfield's opinion, but the suspicious applause 
gi\'en by a cunning Scotchman to the man he detests, 
that raised and justified a doubt in li)e mind of Junius. 
The question is not, whether lord Mansfield be a man 
of learning and abilities (which Junius has never dis- 
puted), but whether or no he abuses and misapplies 
his talents. 

Junius did not say that lord Mansfield had advised 
the calling out of the guards. On the contrary, his 
plain meaning is, that he left that odious office to 
men less cunning tiian himself. Whether lord Mans- 
field's doctrine concerning libels be or be not an at- 
tack upon the liberty of the press, is a question which 
the public in general are very well able to determine. 
[ shall not enter into it at present. Nor do I think 
it necessary to say much to a man, who h-.id the (hir- 
ing confidence to say to a jury, " Gentlemen, yon 
are to bring in a verdict guilty or not guilty : but 
whether the defendant be guilty or innocent, is not 
matter for your consideration." Clothe it in what 
language you will, this is the sum total of lord Mans- 
field's doctrine- If not, let Zeno show us the diflerence. 

But it seems, " the liberty of the press may be 
I bused, and the abuse of a valuable privilege is the 
i-ertain means to lose it." The first I admit; but let 
the abuse be submitted to a jury; a sufficient, and, 
indeed, the only legal and constitutional check upon 
the license of tlie press. The second I flatly deny. 
In direct contradiction to lord Mansfield, I affirm, 
that '• the abuse of a valua!)le privilege is not the 
certain means to lose it;" if it were, the English na- 
tion would have few priv'leges left ; for, where is the 
privilege that has not, at one time or other, been 



164 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

abused by individuals? But it is false in reason and 
equity, that particular abuses should produce a gene- 
ral forfeiture. Shall the community be deprived oi 
the protection of the laws, because there are robbers 
and murderers ? Shall the community be punished^ 
because individuals have offended? Lord Mansfield 
says so, consistently enough with his principles ; but 
I wonder to find him so explicit. Yet, for one con- 
cession, however extorted, I confess myself obliged to 
him. The liberty of the press is, after all, a valuable 
privilege. I agree with him most heartily, and will 
defend it against him. 

You ask me. What juryman was challenged by 
lord Mansfield ? I tell you ; his name is Benson. 
When his name was called, lord Mansfield ordered 
the clerk to pass him by. As for his reasons, yon 
may ask himself, for he assigned none : but I can 
tell you what all men thought of it. This Benson 
had been refractory upon a former jury, and would 
not accept of the law as delivered by Lord Mansfield; 
but had the impudence to pretend to think for himself. 
But you, it seems, honest Zeno, know nothing of the 
matter. You never read Junius's letter to your pat- 
ron : you never heard of the intended instructions 
from the city to impeach lord Mansfield : you never 
heard by what dexterity of Mr. Paterson that measure 
was prevented. How wonderfully ill some people are 
informed ! 

Junius did never affirm, that the crime of seducing 
the wife of a mechanic or a peer, is not the same, 
taken in a moral or religious view. What he affirm 
ed, in contradiction to the levelling principle so lately 
tdonted by lord Mansfield, was, " that the damages 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 165 

should be proportioned to tlie rank and fortune ol' the 
parties:" and for this plain reason (admitted by every 
other judge that ever sat in VVestminster-liall) because 
what is a compensation or penalty to one man, is 
none to another. The sophistical distinction 30U at- 
tempt to draw between tlie person injured and the 
person injuring, is Mansfield all over. If you can 
once establish tlie proposition, that the injured party 
is not entitled to receive large damages, it follows, 
pretty plainly, that tlie party injuring should not be 
compelled to pay tliem ; consequently the king's 
brother is effectually screened by lord Mansfield's 
doctrine. Your reference to Nathan and Uavid comes 
naturally in aid of your patrons professed system of 
jurisprudence. He is fond of introducing into the 
court of king's bench any law that contradicts or ex- 
cludes the common law of England ; whether it l)e 
canon, civil, jus gentium, or Levitical. But, sir, the 
Bible is the code of our religious faith, not of our 
municipal jurisprudence : and though it was the 
pleasure of God to inflict a particular punishment 
upon David's crime (taken as a breach of his divine 
commands) and to send his prophet to denounce it, 
an English jury have nothing to do either with David 
or the prophet. They consider the crime only as it 
is a breach of order, an injury to an individual, and 
an offence to society; and they judge of it by certain 
positive rules of law, or by the practice of their an- 
cestors. Upon the whole, the man " after God's 
own heart" is much indebted to you for comparing 
hi in to the duke of Cumberland. That his royal 
highness may be the man after lord Mansfield's own 
heart, seems much more probable ; and ycti, I think, 



166 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Mr. Zeno, niight succeed tolerably well in the char- 
acler of Nathan. The evil deity, the prophet, and 
the royal sinner, would be very proper company for 
ont another. 

You say, lord Mansfield did not make the com- 
missioners of the great seal, and that he only ad- 
vised the king to appoint. I believe Junius meant 
no more ; and the distinction is hardly worth dis- 
puting. 

You say he did not deliver an opinion upon lord 
Chatham's appeal. I affirm that he did, directly in 
favour of the appeal. This is a point of fact to be 
determined by evidence only. But you assign no 
reason for his supposed silence, nor for his desiring a 
conference with the judges the day before. Was not 
all Westminster-hall convinced that he did it with a 
view to puzzle them with some perplexing question, 
and in hopes of bringing some of them over to him ? 
You say the commissioners were very capable of fram- 
ing a decree for themselves. By the fact, it only ap- 
pears, that they were capable of framing an illegal 
one ; which, I apprehend, is not much to the credit 
eitlier of their learning or integrity. 

We are both agreed, that lord Mansfield has in- 
cessantly laboured to introduce new modes of pro- 
ceeding in tlie court where he presides ; but you 
attribute it to an honest zeal in behalf of innocence, 
oppressed by quibble and chicane. I say, that he has 
introduced new law too, and removed the landmarks 
established by former decisions. I say, that iiis view 
is, to change a court of common law into a court of 
equity, and to bring every thing within the arbitrium 
of a praetorian court. The oublic must determine 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. IGI 

between us. But now for his merits. First then, 
the establishment of the judges in their places for life, 
(which you tell us was advised by lord Mansfield) 
was a concession merely to catch the people. It bore 
the appearance of a royal bounty, but had nothing 
real in it. The judges were already for life, except- 
ing in the case of a demise. Your boasted bill only 
provides, that it shall not be in the power of the king's 
successor to remove them. At the best, therefore, it 
is only a legacy, not a gift, on the part of his present 
majesty, since, for himself, he gives up nothing. That 
he did oppose lord Camden and lord Northington 
upon the proclamation against the exportation of corn, 
is most true, and with great ability. With his talents, 
and taking the right side of so clear a question, it 
A'as impossible to speak ill. His motives are not so 
easily penetrated. They who are acquainted with 
the state of politics at that period, will judge of them 
!<omewhat differently from Zeno. Of the popular 
bills, which you say he supported in the house of 
lords, the most material is unquestionably that of Mr. 
Grenville for deciding contested elections. But I 
should be glad to know upon what possible pretence 
any member of the upper house could oppose such a 
bill, after it had passed the house of commons .'* I do 
not pretend to know what share he had in promoting 
the other two bills ; but I am ready to give him all 
the credit you desire. Still you will find, that a 
whole life of deliberate iniquity is ill atoned for, by 
doing now and then a laudable action, upon a mixed 
or doubtful principle. If it be unworthy of him, thus 
ungratefully treated, to labour any longer for the 
public, in God's name, let him retire. His brother's 



les JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

pjitron (whose health lie once was anxious for) is dead 
Lut the son of that unfortunate prince survives, and 
1 dare say, will be ready to receive him. 

PHILC TUNIUS. 



LXI. 

To an Advocate in the Cause of the People. 

SIR, ' October 18, 1771. 

You do not treat Junius fairly. You would not 
have condemned him so hastily, if you had ever read 
judge Foster's argument upon the legality of pressing 
seamen. A man who has not read that argument, is 
not qualified to speak accurately upon the subject. In 
answer to strong facts and fair reasoning, you produce 
nothing but a vague comparison between two things 
which have little or no resemblance to eacii other. 
General ivarrants, it is true, had been often issued 
but they had never been regularly questioned or re- 
sisted, until the case of Mr. Wilkes. He brougiit 
them to trial ; and the moment they were tried, they 
were declared illegal. This is not the case o{ press 
warrants. They have been complained of, question- 
ed, and resisted in a thousand instances ; but still the 
legislature have never interposed, nor has there ever 
been a formal decision against them in any of the 
superior courts. On the contrary, they have been 
frequently recognised and admitted by parliament ; 
and tliere are judicial opinions given in their favour 
oy judges of the first character. Under the various 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 169 

circumstances stated by Junius, he has a right to 
conclude for himself, tliat there is no remedy. If 
vou have a good one to propose, you may depend 
upon the assistance and applause of Junius. The 
magistrate wljo guards the liberty of the individual 
deserves to be commended. But let him remember, 
that it is also his duty to provide for, or at least not 
to haz.ard, the safety of the community. If, in the 
case of a foreign war, and the expectation ot an in- 
vasion, you would rather keep your fleet in harbour, 
than man it by Dressing seamen who refuse the boun- 
ty, I have done 

You talk of disbanding the army with wonderful 
ease and indiflerence. If a wiser man held such 
language, I should be apt to suspect his sincerity. 

As for keeping up a much greater number of sea 
men in time of peace, it is not to be done : you will 
oppress the merchant, you will distress trade, and 
destroy the nursery of your seamen. He must be a 
miserable statesman who voluntarily, by the same act 
increases the public expense, and lessens the means 
9f supporting it. 

PHILO JUNIUS. 



«ei» n. 



nn JUNius's letters. 



LXII. 

October 22, 1771 
A friend of Junius desires it may be obseived (in 
answer to a barrister at law.) 

1. That the fact of lord ^lansfield's having ordered 
a juryman to be passed by (which poor Zeno nevei 
heard of) is now formally admitted. When Mr. Bra- 
soil's name was called, lord Mansfield was observeci 
to flush in the face (a signal of guilt not uncommon 
with him), and cried out, " Pass him by." This J 
take to be something more than a peremptory ( lial 
lenge : it is an unlaioful command, without any rea- 
son assigned. That the counsel did.not resist, is true; 
but tliis might happen either from inadvertence, or a 
criminal complaisance to lord Mansfield. You bar- 
risters are too apt to be civil to my lord chief justice, 
at the expense of your clients. 

2. Junius did never say, that lord Mansfield harl 
destroyed the liberty of the press. " That his lord- 
ship has laboured to destroy, that his doctrine is an 
attack upon the liberty of the press, that it is an inva- 
tion of the right of juries," are the propositions 
maintained by Junius. His opponents never answer 
him in point; for they never meet him fairly upon 
his own ground. 

3. Lord Mansfield's policy, in endeavourmg to 
screen hi? unconstitutional doctrines boliiiid an act 
of tlte legislature, is easily un!lerst(»)d, (nt '»v«'ry 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 171 

Englishman stand upon his guard : the right o( 
juries to return a general verdict, in all cases vvliat- 
soever, is a part of our constitution. Tt stands in 
no need of a bill, either enacting or declaratory, to 
confirm it. 

4. With regard to the Grosvenor cause, it is 
pleasant to observe, that the doctrine attributed by 
Junius to lord Mansfield is admitted by Zeno, and 
directly defended. The barrister has not the as 
surance to deny it flatly ; but he evades the charge 
and softens the doctrine, by sucii poor contemptible 
quibbles as cannot impose upon the meanest under- 
standing. 

5. The quantity of business in the court of king's 
bench proves nothing but the litigious spirit of the 
people, arising from the great increase of wealth and 
commerce. These, however, are now upon the de- 
cline, and will soon leave nothing but lawsuits be- 
hind them. When Junius affirms, that lord Mans- 
field has laboured to alter the system of jurisprudence 
ni the court where his lordship presides, he speaks to 
those who are able to look a little farther than the 
vulgar. Besides, that the multitude are easily de- 
ceived by the imposing names of equity and substan- 
tial justice^ it does not follow that a judge, who in- 
troduces into his court new modes of proceeding, and 
new principles of law, intends, in every instance, to 
decide unjustly. Wliy should he, where he has no 
interest ? We say, that lord Mansfield is a bad 7nan, 
and a worse judize ; but we do not say that he is a 
mere devil. Our adversaries would fain red ice us to 
the difficulty of proving too much. This artifice, 
however, shall not avail Itm. The truth of the mat- 



172 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ler is plainly this: when lord Mansfield has succeeded 
in his scheme of changing- a court of common law to 
a court of equity, he will have it in his power to do 
injustice whenever he thinks proper. This, though a 
wicked purpose, is neither absurd nor unattainable. 

6. The last paragraph, relative to lord Chatham's 
cause, cannot be answered. It partly refers to facts 
oi too secret a nature to be ascertained, and partly is 
unintelligible. " Upon one point the cause is decid- 
ed against lord Chatham : upon anotlier point it is 
decided fo? him." Beth the law and the language 
are well suited to a barrister ! If I have any guess 
at this honest gentleman's meaning, it is, " That 
whereas the commissioners of the great seal saw the 
question in a point of view unfavourable to lord 
Chatham, and decreed accordingly; lord Mansfield. 
out of sheer love and kindness to lord Chatham, took 
the pains to place it in a point of view more favour- 
able to the appellant^ Credat Judceus Apella. So 
curious an assertion would stagger the faith of Mr. 
Syiva. 



LXIII. 

ISovember 2, 1771. 

fVe are desired to make the following declaration, 
/n behall of Junius, upon three material points, 
on which his opinion has been mistaken or misre- 
presented. 

I . Junius considers the right of taxing the colo* 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. r.j 

nies, by an act of the British legislature, as a ijjecu- 
lative rigiit merely, never to be exerted nor ever to be 
renounced. To his judgment it appears plain, " That 
the general reasoi'ngs which were employed against 
that powei went directly to our whole legislative right; 
and that one part of it could not be 3'ielded to such 
arguments, without a virtual surrender of all the rest." 
2. That, with regard to press-warrants, his argu- 
ment should be taken in his own words, and answer- 
ed strictly ; that comparisons may sometimes illus- 
trate, but prove nothing; and that, in this case, an 
appeal to the passions is unfair and unnecessary. 
Junius feels and acknowledges the evil in the most 
express terms, and will shew himself ready to concur 
in any rational plan that may provide for the liberty 
of the individual, without hazarding the safety of the 
community. At the same time he expects that the 
evil, such as it is, be not exaggerated or misrepre- 
sented. In general, it is not unjust, that, when the 
rich man contributes his wealth, the poor man should 
serve the state in person ; otherwise, the latter con- 
tributes nothing to the defence of that law and con- 
stitution from which he demands safety and protec- 
tion. But the question does not lie between the rich 
and the poor. The laws of England make no such 
distinctions Neither is it true, that the poor man is 
torn from the care and support of a wife and family, 
helpless without him. The single question is, Whether 
Uie seaman * in times of public danger, shall serve the 

* I confine myself strictly to seamen. If any others are 
pressed, it is 1 gross ab'ose, which the magistrate can and 
»hould correct. 



!74 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

merchant, or the state, in that piofession to which ht 
w as bred, and by the exercise of which alone he can 
honestly support himself and his family ? General 
arguments against the doctrine of necessity, and the 
dangerous use that may be made of it, are of no weigiit 
m this particular case. Necessity includes th*' idea 
of inevitable. Whenever it is so, it creates a law to 
which all positive laws, and all positive rights must 
give way. In this sense, the levy of ship-money by 
the king's warrant was not necessary, because the 
business might have been as well or better done by 
parliament. If the doctrine maintained by Junius be 
confined within this limitation, it will go but a very 
litile way in support of arbitrary power. That tlie 
king is to judge of the occasion, is no objection, un- 
less we are told how it can possibly be otherwise. 
Tiiere are other instances, not less in)portant in the 
exercise, nor less dangerous in the abuse, in which 
the constitution relies entirely upon the king's judg 
ment. The executive power proclaims war anfl 
peace, binds the nation by treaties, orders genera! 
embargoes, and imposes quarantines ; not to men 
tion a multitude of prerogative writs, which, though 
liable to the greatest abuses, were never disputed. 

3. It has been urged, as a reproach to Junius, thai 
he has not delivered an opinion upon the game laws, 
and particularly the late dog act. But Junius thinks 
lie has much greater reason to complain, that he is 
never assisted by those who are able to assist him : 
and that almost the whole labour of the press is thrown 
upon a single hand, from which a discussion of every 
public question is unreasonably expected. He is not 
pa'd 'or his labour, and certainly has a right to 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. I75 

choose hii employment. As to the game la\\'5, lie 
^ever scrupled to declare his opinion, tiiat they are 
a species of the forest laws : that they are oppressive 
to the subject ; and that the spirit of them is incom- 
patible with legal liberty ; that the penalties imposed 
by these laws bear no proportion to the nature of the 
o/l'euce : that the mode of trial, and the degree and 
kind of evidence necessary to convict, not only de- 
prive tlie subject of all the benefits of a trial by jury, 
but are in themselves too summary, and to the last 
degree arbitrary and oppressive : that, in particular, 
the late acts to prevent dog stealing, or killing game 
between sun and sun, are distinguished by their ab- 
surdity, extravagance, and pernicious tendenc3\ If 
these terms are weak or ambiguous, in what language 
can Junius express himself? It is no excuse for lord 
Mansfield to say, that he happened to be absent when 
these bills passed the housp of lords. It was his duty 
to be present. Such bills could never have passed 
the house of commons without his knowledge. Bui 
we very well know b}' what rule he regulates his at- 
tendance. When tha; order was made in the house 
of lords, in the case of lord Pomfret, at which every 
Englishman shudders, my honest lord Mansfield 
found himself, by mere accident, in the court of king's 
bench ; otherwise he would have done wonders in 
defence of law and property ! The pitiful evasion 
is adapted to the character. But Junius will never 
justify himself by the example of this bad man. 
The distinction between doing wrong, and avoiding 
to do right, belongs to lord Mansfield. Junius dis- 
claims it 



•76 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 



LXIV. 

To Lotd Chief Jvstice Mansfield. 

November 2, 1771. 

At .he intercession of three of your countrymen, 
you lave bailed a man, who, I presume, is also a 
Scotchman, and whom the lord mayor of London had 
refused to bail. I do not mean to enter into an exam- 
ination of the partial, sinister motives of your conduct; 
but, confining myself strictly to the fact, I affirm, that 
you have done that, which, by law, you were not 
warranted to do. The thief was taken in the theft ; 
the stolen goods were found upon him, and he made 
no defence. In these r-rcumstances (the truth of 
which you dare not deny, because it is of public no- 
toriety) it could not stand indifferent, whether he was 
guilty or not, much less could there be any presump- 
tion of his innocence ; and, in these circumstances, 1 
afRrm, in contradiction to you, lord chief justice 
Mansfield, that, by the laws pf England, he was not 
bailable. If ever Mr. Eyre should be brought to trial, 
we jhall hear what you have to say for yourself; 
and I pledge myself, before God and my country, 
in proper time and place, to make gr^sd my charge 
against you. 

JUNIUS. 



JUMUS'S LETTERS. ITi 



LXV. 



To the Printer of the Public Advertiser. 

November 9, 1771. 
Junius engages to make good his charge against 
lord chief justice Mansfield, some time before the 
meeting of parliament, in order that the house of 
commons may, if they think proper, make it one 
article in the impeachment of the said lord chief 
lustice. 



LXVI. 



To his Grace the Duke of Grafton, 

November 27, 1771. 
What is the reason, my lord, that, when almost 
evtry man in the kingdom, witiiout distinction of 
principles or party, exults in the ridictilous defeat of 
sir James Lowther, when good and bad men unite in 
one common opinion of that baronet, and triumph id 
his distress, as if the event (without any reference tc 
vice or virtue,) were interesting to human nature^ 
your grace alone should appear so miserably depres- 
sed and alHicted? In such universal joy, I know not 

where you will look for a compliment of coiidnlei.— 
11 2 12 



178 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

unless you appeal to the tender, sympatlietic sorrows 
of Mr Bradshaw. That cream-coloured gentleman's 
tears, affecting as they are, carry consolation along 
with them. He never weeps, but, like an April 
shower, with a lambent ray of sunshine upon liis 
countenance. From the feelings of honest men upon 
liiis joyful occasion, I do not mean to draw any con- 
clusion to your grace. They naturally rejoice when 
they see a signal instance of tyranny resisted with 
success, of treachery exposed to the derision of the 
world, an infamous informer defeated, and an impu- 
dent robber dragged to the public gibbet. But in 
the other class of mankind, I own I expected to meet 
the duke of Grafton. Men who had no regard for 
justice, nor any sense of honour, seem as heartily 
pleased with sir James Lowther's well-deserved pun- 
ishment, as if it did not constitute an example against 
themselves. The unhappy baronet has no friends, 
even among those who resemble him. Tou, ray lord, 
are not reduced to so deplorable a state of derelic- 
tion ; every villain in the kingdom is your friend ; and, 
in compliment to such amity, I think you should suf- 
fer your dismal countenance to clear up. Besides, 
my lord, 1 am a little anxious for the consistency 
wf your character. You violate your own rules of 
decorum, when you do not insult the man you have 
betrayed. 

The divine justice of retribution seems now to have 
begun its progress. Deliberate treachery entails 
punishment upon the traitor. There is no possibility 
of escaping it, even ni the highest rank to which the 
consent of society can exalt the meanest and worst ol 
oi-^n. The forced, unnatural union of Luttrell and 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 179 

Widdlesex was an omen of another unnatural union, 
hy vvliich indefeasible infamy is attached to the house 
of Brunswick. If one of those acts was virtuous and 
honourable, the best of princes, I thank God, is hap- 
pily rewarded for it by tiie other. Your grace, it 
has been said, had some share in recommending 
colonel Luttrell to the king ; or was it only the gen- 
tle Biadshaw who made himself answerable for the 
good behaviour of his friend f An intimate connexion 
has long subsisted between him and the worthy lord 
Irnham. It arose from a fortunate similarity of prin- 
ciples, cemented by the constant mediation of their 
common friend Miss Davis.* 



* There is a certain family in this country, on which 
nature seems to have entailed an hereditary baseness of 
disposition. As far as their history has been known, the 
son has regularly improved upon the vices of his father, 
and has taken care to ti'ansmit them pure and undiminished 
into the bosom of his successor. In the senate, their abili- 
ties have confined them to those humble, sordid services, in 
which the scavengers of the ministry are usually employed. 
But in the memoirs of private treachery, they stand first and 
unrivalled. The following story will serve to illustrate the 
character of this respectable family, ard to convince the 
world, that the present possessor has as clea. a title to the 
mfamy of his ancestors, as he has to their estate. It deserves 
to be recorded for the curiosity of the fact, and should be 
given to the public, as a warning to every honest member 
of society. 

The present lord Irnham, who is now in the decline o' 
life, lately cultivated the acquaintance of a younger brother 
of a family, with which he had lived in some degree of inti- 
macy an.l friendship. The young man had lonfj been the 



180 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

Yet I confess I should be sorry that the opprobri- 
ous infamy of tliis match should reach beyond the 
family. We have now a better reason than ever to 
pray for the long life of the best of princes, and the 
welfare of his royal issue. I will not mix any thing 
ominous with my prayers • but let parliament look 
to i::^ A Lutlrell 'hall never succeed to the crown 
of England. If the nereditary virtues of the family 
deserve a kingdom, Scotland will be a proper retreat 
for them. 

The next is a most remarkable instance of the 
goodness of Providence. The just law of retaliation 
has at last overtaken the little contemptible tyrant of 
the north. To this son-in-law of your dearest friend, 
the earl of Bute, you meant to transfer the duke oi 
Portland's property ; and you hastened the grant 



dupe of a most unhappy attachment to a common prosti- 
tute. His friends and relations foresaw the consequences 
of this connexion, and did every thing that depended upon 
them to save him from ruin. But he had a friend in lord 
Irnham, whose advice rendered all their endeavours ineflec- 
tual. This hoary lecher, not contented with the enjoy- 
ment of his friend's mistress, was base enough to take ad- 
vantage of the passions and folly of the young man, and 
persuaded him to m<u:ry her. He descended even to per- 
form the office of father to the prostitute. He gave her to 
his friend, who was on the poijit of leaving the kingdom, 
and the next night lay with her himself. 

Whether the depravity of the human heart can produce 
any thing more base and detestable than this fact, nmst be 
left undetermined, until the son shall arrive at his father's 
age and experience. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 18. 

with an expedition unknown to the treasury, that he 
might have it time enough to give a decisive turn to 
the election for the county. The immediate conse- 
quence of this flagitious robbery was, that he lost the 
election which you meant to insure him, and with 
such signal circumstances of scorn, reproach, and 
insult, (to say nothing of the general exultation of al 
parties,) as (excepting the king's brother-in-law, 
colonel Lultrell, and old Simon, his father-in-law) 
hardly ever fell upon a gentleman in this country 
In the event, he loses the very property of which he 
thought he had gotten possession, and af.er an ex- 
pense which wouid have paid the value of the land in 
question twenty times over. The forms of villany, 
vou see, are necessary to its success. Hereafter you 
will act with greater circumspection, and not drive 
so directly to your object. To snatch a grace beyond 
the reach of common treachery, is an exception, not 
a rule. 

And now, my good lord, does not your conscious 
heart inform you, that the justice of retribution be- 
gins to operate, and tnat it may soon approach vour 
person f Do you think that Junius has renounced 
the Middlesex election ^ or that the king's timber 
sliall be refused to tne royal navy willi impunity .'' or 
that you shall hear no more of the sale of that patent 
to Mr. Hine, which you endeavour to screen by sud- 
denly dropping your pmsecution of Samuel Vaughan, 
when the rule against him was made absolute t 1 
htlieve, indeed, there never was such an instance in 
all the history of negative impudence. But it shall 
nr )t save 3 ou. The very sunshine you live in is a 



182 JUNlUb'S LETTERS. 

prelude to your dissolution. ^Vhen you are lipe, you 
bhall be plucked. 

JUNIUS 

P. S. I beg 30U will convey to your gracious mas- 
ter my humble congratulations upon the glorious suc- 
cess of peerages and pensions so lavishly distributed 
as the rewards of Irish virtue. 



LXVII. 

To Lord Chief Justice Mansfield. 

January 21, 1772. 
I have undertaken to prove, that when, at the 
intercession of three of your countrymen, you bailed 
John Eyie^ you did that " which by law you were 
not warr.mted to do ;" and that a felon, under the 
circumstances " of being taken in the fact, with tiie 
stolen p;oods upon him, and making no defence, is not 
bailable" by the laws of England. Your learned 
advocates have interpreted this charge into a denial, 
that the court of king's bench, or the judges of that 
court, during the vacation, have any greater authori- 
ty to bail for criminal oAences than a justice of peace. 
With the instance before me, I am supposed to ques- 
tion your power of doing wrong, and to deny the 
existence of a power, at the same moment that I ar- 
raign the illegal exercise of it. But the opniions of 
such men. whether wilful in their malignity, or sincere 



JLNIUS'S LETTERS. 183 

in their iguor-xnce, are unworthy of my notice You, 
lord Mansfield, did not understand me so j and I 
promise you, your cause requires an abler defence. 
I xm now to make good njy charge against you. 
However dull my argument, the subject of it is inter 
esting. I shall be honoured with the attention of the 
public, and have a right to demand the attention of 
the legislature. Supported, as I am, by the whole 
body of the criminal law of England, I have no doubt 
of establishing my charge. If, on your part, you shall 
have no plain substantial defence, but should endea- 
vour to shelter yourself under the quirk and evasion 
of a practising lawyer, or under the mere insulting 
assertion of power without right, the reputation you 
pretend to is gone for ever; you stand degraded from 
the respect and authority of your office, and are no 
longer dejure, lord chief justice of England. 

This letter, my lord, is addressed not so much to 
you, as to the public. Learned as you are, and quick 
in apprehension, few arguments are necessary to satis- 
fy you, that you have done that, which, by law, you 
were not warranted to do. Your conscience already 
tells you, that you have sinned against knowledge ; 
and that, whatever defence you make, contradicts 
your own internal conviction. But other men are 
willing enough to take the law upon trust. They 
rely upon your authority, because they are too indo- 
lent to search for information : or, conceiving thai 
there is some mystery in the laws of their country, 
which lawyers are only qualified to explain, they dis- 
trust their judgment, ai.d voluntarily renounce the 
right of thinking for tht-mselves. Will) all the evi- 
•leucp of history before them, from Tres-''an to Jeffb 



184 JLNIUS'S LETTERS. 

rt«, from Jefferies to Mansfield, they will not believe 
it possible that a learned judge can act in direct con- 
tradiction to those laws, which he is supposed to make 
the study of his life, and which he has sworn to ad- 
minister faithfully. Superstition is certainly not the 
characteristic of this age ; yet some men are bigotted 
in politics who are infidels in religion. I do not des- 
pair of making them ashamed of their credulity. 

The charge I brought against you is expressed in 
terms guarded and well considered. They do not 
deny the strict power of the judges of the coin i i 
king's bencli to bail in cases not bail? ble by a justice 
of peace, nor replevisable by the common writ, or 
ex ojficio, by the sheriff. I well know the practice of 
the court, and by what legal rules it ought to be di- 
rected. But, far from meaning to soften or diminish 
the force of those terms I have made use of, I now go 
beyond them, and affirm, 

1. That the superior power of bailing for felony, 
claimed by the court of king's bench, is founded upon 
the opinion of lawyers, and the practice of the court ; 
that the assent of the legislature to this power is mere- 
ly negative, and that it is not supported by any posi- 
tive provision in any statute whatsoever. If it be, 
produce the statute. 

2. Admitting that the judges of the court of king's 
bench are vested with a discretionary power to exam- 
ine and judge of circumstances and allegations which 
a justice of peace is not permitted to consider, I af- 
firm that the judges, in the use and application of that 
discretionary power, are as strictly bound by the 
spirit, intent, and meaning, as the justice of peace is 
by thfc words of the legislature. Favourable circuro- 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 185 

stances, alleged before the judge, may jastify a 
doubt, whether the prisoner be guilty or not; and 
where the guilt is doubtful, a presumption of inno- 
cence should in general be admitted. But, when any 
such probable circumstances are alleged, they alter 
the state and condition of the prisoner. He is no 
longer that all-hvt-convicted felon, whom the law in- 
tends, and who by law is not bailable at all. If no 
circumstances whatsoever are alleged in his favour ; 
if no allegation whatsoever be made to lessen the 
force of that evidence which the law annexes to a 
positive charge of felony, and particularly to the fact, 
of being taken with the manner; I then say, that the 
lord chief justice of England has no more right to bail 
him than a justice of peace. The discretion of an 
English judge is not of mere will and pleasure ; it is 
not arbitrary ; it is not capricious; but, as that great 
lawyer (whose authority 1 wish you respected half as 
much as I doj truly says,* " Discretion, taken as it 
ought to be, is, discernere per legem quid, sit justum. 
[fit be not directed by the right line of the law, it is 
a crooked cord, and appeareth to be unlawful." If 
discretion were arbitrary in the judge, he might in- 
troduce whatever novelties he thought proper. But, 
says lord Coke, " Novelties, without warrant of pre- 
cedents, are not to be allowed : some certain rules are 
to be followed: Quicquid judicis auctoritati subjicitur 
novitati non subjicitur." And this sound doctrine is 
applied to the star-chamber, a court confessedly arbi- 
trary. If you will abide by the authority of this 



• Inst. 41. 66. 



IB6 JUMLS'S LETTt:RS. 

greal mail, you shall have all the advantage of his 
opinion, wherever it appears to favour you. Ex- 
cepting the plain, express meaning of the legislature, 
;o which all private opinions must give way, I desire 
no hetter judge between as than lord Coke. 

3. I affirm that, according to the obvious, indis- 
putable meaning of the legislature, repeatedly ex- 
pressed, a person positively charged with feloniously 
stealing, and taken in flagrante delicto, with the 
stolen goods upon him, is not bailable. The law 
considers him as difTering in nothing from a convict, 
but in the form of conviction ; and (whatever a cor- 
»upt judge may do) will accept of no security, but 
»he confinement of his body within four walls. I 
know it has been alleged, in your favour, that you 
have often bailed for murders, rapes, and other mani- 
{■pst crimes. Without questioning the fact, I shall 
Mot admit that you are to be justified by your own qtk- 
»mple. If that were a protection to you, where is 
the crime, that, as a jtidge, you might not now se- 
curely commit ? But neither shall I suffer myself to 
be drawn aside from my present argument, nor 3'ou 
to profit by your own wrong. To prove the meaning 
and intent of the legislature, will require a minute 
and tedious deduction. To investigate a question ol 
taw. dtmands some labour \ud attention, though very 
little genius or sagacity. As a practical profession, 
the study of the law requires but a moderate portion 
of abilities. The learning of a pleader is usually 
Bpon a level with his integrity. The indiscriminate 
defence of right and wrong contracts the under- 
standing, while it corrupts the heart. Subtilty is 
toon mistaken for wisdom and mpnnily ib- virtue 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 161 

if there be any instances upon record (as some there 
are undoubtedh', of genius and morality united in a 
lawyer) they are distinguished by their singularity, 
and operate as exceptions. 

I must solicit the patience of my readers. This is 
no light niatter ; nor is it any more susceptible of or- 
nament, than the conduct of lord Mansfield is capa- 
ble of aggravation. 

As the law of bail, in charges of felony, has been 
exactly ascertained by acts of die legislature, it is at 
present of little consequence to inquire how it stood 
at common law before the statute of Westminster. 
And yet it is worth the reader's attention to observe, 
how nearly, in the ideas of our ancestors, the cir- 
cumstance of being taken with the maner approach- 
ed to the conviction* of the felon. It " fixed the 
authoritative stamp of verisimilitude upon the accu- 
sation : and, by the comtnon law, with the things 
stolen upon him in manu, he might, so detected, 
flagrante delicto, be brought into court, arraigned, 
and tried, without indictn^ent; as, by the Danish law, 
he might be taken and lianged on the spot, without 
accusation or trial," It will soon appear that our 
statute in law, in this behalf, though less summary 
in point of proceeding, is directed by the same spir- 
it. In one instance, the very form is adhered to. 
In offences relating to the forest, if a man was takeu 
«vith vert, or venison,! it was declared to be equiva- 
ent tj indictment. To enable the reader to judg« 



• Blackstone, iv. 30y. 

t I i:d. III. cap. 8 ; and 7 Ric IT cap. 4. 



188 JUNIUS S LETTERS. 

for himself, I shall state, in due order, the seveiA 
statutes relative to bail in criminal casos, cr as much 
of them as may be material to the point in question, 
omitting superfluous words. If I misrepresent, or 
do not quote with fidelity, it will not be difficult tc 

detect me. 

* The statute of Westminster the first, in 1275, 
sets forth, that " Forasmuch as sheriffs and others, 
who have taken and kept in prison persons detected 
of felony and incontinent, have let out by replevin 
such as were not replevisable, because they would 
gain of the one party, and grieve the other ; and 
forasmuch as, before this time, it was not determined 
which persons were replevisable, and which not ; it 
is provided, and by the king commanded, that such 
prisoners, &tc. as be taken widx the maner, &ic. 
or for manifest offences, shall be in no wise re- 
plevisable by the common writ, nor without writ." 
Lord Coke,t in his exposition of the last part of 
this quotation, accurately distinguishes between re- 
plevy, by the common writ, or ex officio, and bail 
by the king's bench. The words of the statute 

• Videtur que le statute de mainprize n'est que le rehersai 
del comen ley."— Bro. Mainp. 61. 

t " There are thi-e points to be considered in the con- 
gtruction of all remedial statutes ; the old law, the mischief, 
and the remedy ; that is, how the common law stood at the 
making of the act; what the mischief was for which the 
common law did not provide ; and what remedy the parlia- 
ment hath provided to cure this mischief. It is the busines* 
of the judges so to construe the act, as to suppress the mi* 
-.hief, and adviuce the reiu yiy. "—Blackslotit. i. 87. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 189 

certainly do not extend to the judges of that court. 
But, besides tliat, tlie reader will soon find reason to 
think that the legislature, in their intention, made no 
difference between bailable and replevisable. Lord 
Coke himself, if he be understood to mean nothing but 
an exposition of the statute of Westminster, and not 
to state the law generally, does not adhere to his 
own distinction. In expounding the other offences, 
which, by this statute, and declared not replevisable, 
he constantly uses the words not bailable. " That 
outlaws, for instance, are not bailable at all : thai 
persons who have abjured the realm, are attainted 
upon their own confession, and therefore not bailable 
at all by law : that provers are not bailable : that no- 
torious felons are not bailable." The reason why 
the superior courts were not named in the statute of 
Westminster, was plainly this : " because anciently 
most of the business touching bailment of prisoners 
for felony or misdemeanors, was performed by the 
sheriffs, or special bailiffs of liberties, either by writ, 
or virtute officii ;"* consequently the superior courts 
had little or no opportunity to commit those abuses 
which the statute imputes to the sheriffs. With sub- 
niission to Dr. Blackstone, I think he has fallen into 
a contradiction, which, in terms at least, appears ir- 
reconcileable. After enumerating several offences not 
bailable, he asserts, without any condition or limita- 
tion whatsoever,! " All these are clearly not admissi- 
ble to bail." Yet. in a few lines after, he says, " It 
s agreed that the court of king's bench may bail for 
any criii«e whatsoever, according to the circuro' 

• 2 Hale, P C. 128, I3r> •» mackrtone, iv. 29<> 



90 JUNIUS'S LETTERS 

stances of the case." To his first proposition he 
should hav« added, " by sheriffs or justices;" other- 
wise the t« i propositions contradict each other : with 
this difference, however, ihat the (Irst is absolute, t\u 
second limited by a consideration of circumstances. 
I say this, without the least intended disrespect to the 
learned author. His work is of public utility, and 
should not hastily be condemned. 

The statute of 17 Richard II. cap. 10, 1393, sets 
forth, that, " Forasmuch as thieves notoriously de- 
famed, and others taken with the maner, by their 
long abiding in prison, were delivered by charters 
and favourable inquests procured, to the great hin- 
derance of the people, two men of law shall be as- 
signed, in every commission of the peace, to proceed 
to the deliverance of such felons," &tc. It seems, by 
this act, that there was a constant struggle between 
the legislature and the officers of justice. Not dar- 
ing to admit felons taken with the maner to bail or 
mainprize, they evaded the law, by keeping the party 
in prison a long time, and then delivering him will • 
out due trial. 

The statute of 1 Richard III. in 1483, sets forth 
that, " Forasmuch as divers persons have been daily 
arrested and imprisoned for suspicion of felony, some- 
ime of malice, and sometime of a light suspicion 
and so kept in prison without ban or mantprize ; be 
it ordained, that every justice of peace shall have 
authority, by his discretion, to let such prisoners and 
persons so arrested to bail or mainprize." By this 
act, it appears that there had been abuses in matter 
of ira,<rtsonoient, and that the legislature meant to 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. i9j 

provide for the immediate enlargement of jtersonx 
arrested on light suspicion of felony. 

The statute of 3 Henry VII. in 1486, declares, 
that, under colour of the preceding act of Richard 
the Third, " Persons, such as were not maiupernt;- 
ble, were oftentimes let to bail or mainprise by jus- 
tices of the peace, whereby many murderers and fel- 
ons escaped ; the king, he. hath ordained, that the 
justices of the peace, or two of them at least (where- 
of one to be of the quorum) have authority to let any 
such prisoners or persons, mainpernable by the law, to 
bail or mainprize." 

The statute of 1 and 2 of Philip and Mary, in 
1554, sets forth, that, " Notwithstanding the preced- 
ing statute of Henry the Seventh, one justice of peace 
hath oftentimes, by sinister labour and means, set at 
large the greatest and notablest olTenders, such as be 
not replevisable by the laws of this realm ; and yet 
the rather to hide their affections in that behalf, have 
assigned the cause of their apprehension to be but 
only for suspicion of felony, whereby the said ofiend 
ers have escaped unpunished, and do daily, to the 
high displeasure of Almighty God, the great peril o( 
the king and queen's true subjects, and encourage- 
ment of all thieves and evil-doers ; for reformation 
whereof be it enacted that no justice of peace shall 
let to bail or mainprize any such persons, which for 
any oflfence by them committed, be declared not to 
be replevised or bailed, or be forbidden to be replevis- 
ed or bailed, by the statute of Westminster the first 
and furthermore, that any persons arrested for man 
slaughter or felony, being bailable by the Jaw, shal 
not he let to bail or mair prize by any justices o 



192 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

peace, but in the form therein after prescribed." In 
the two preceding statutes, the words bailable, re- 
plevisable, and mainpernable, are used synonymous- 
ly,* or promiscuousl}^ to express the same single in 
teniion of the legislature, viz. not to accept of any 
security but the body of the offender: and when the 
latter statute prescribes the form in which persons ar- 
rested on suspicion of felony (being bailable by the 
law) may be let to bail, it evidently supposes that 
there are some cases not bailable by the law. It may 
tie thought, perhaps, that I attribute to the legisla- 
ture an appearance of inaccuracy in the use of terms 
merely to serve my present purpose. But, in truth, 
It would make more forcibly for my argument, to 
presume, that the legislature were constantly aware 
of the strict legal distinction between bail and reple- 
. vy, and that they always meant to adhere to it.l" For 
if it be true that replevy is by the sheriffs, and bail 
by the higher courts at Westminster (which 1 think 
no lawyer will deny,) it follows, that when the legis- 
lature expressly says that any particular offence is by 
law not bailable, the superior courts are comprehend- 
ed in the prohibition, and bound by it. Otherwise, 
unless there was a positive exception of the superior 
courts (which I affirm there never was in any statute 
elative to bail) the legislature would grossly contra- 
dict themselves, and the manifest intention of the law 



* 2 Hale, P. C. li. 124. 

t Vide 2d Inst. 150, 186, " The word -cplevisable never 
Bignifies bailable. Bailable is in a court of record, by the 
king's justices ; but repleviaable is by the sheriff." — Selden, 
Sfa/^ Trials, vVi. 149. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS 193 

be evaded. It is an established rule, t/iat, when the 
law is special, and reason of it general, it is to be 
generally understood ; and thougli, by custom, a 
latitude be allowed to the court of king's bench, (to 
consider circumstances inductive of a doubt, whether 
the prisoner be guilty or innocent) if this latitude be 
taken as an arbitrary power to bail, when no circum- 
stances whatsoever are alleged in favour of the prison- 
er, it is a power without right, and a daring viola- 
tion of the whole English law of bail. 

The act of the 31st of Charles the Second (com- 
monly called the Habeas Corpus act) particularly de- 
clares, that it is not meant to extend to treason or 
felony, plainly and specially expressed in the warrant 
of commitment. The prisoner is therefore left to 
seek his Habeas Corpus at common law . and so far 
was the legislature from supposing that persons (com- 
mitted for treason or felony, plainly and specially 
expressed in the warrant of commitment) could be 
let to bail by a single judge, or by the whole court, 
that this very act provides a remedy for such persons, 
in case they are not indicted in the course of the term 
or sessions subsequent to their commitment. The 
law neither suffers them to be enlarged before trial, 
tior to be imprisoned after the time in which they 
ought regularly to be tried. In this case the law 
says, ' It shall and may be lawful to and for the 
udges of the court of king's bench, and justices of 
oyer and terminer, or general gaol delivery, and they 
are hereby required, upon motion made to them in 
open court, the last day of the term, session, or gaol 
delivery, either by the prisoner, or any one in his 
behalf, to sel at liberty the i)risoner upon bail, unless 

OL. II. I 13 



194 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

It appear to the judges and justices, upon oall made, 
that the witnesses for the king could not be produced 
the same term, sessions, or gaol delivery." Upon 
the whole of this article I observe, 1. That the pro- 
vision made in the first part of it would be, in a great 
measure, useless and nugatory, if any single judge 
.night have bailed the prisoner ex arhitrio during the 
vacation, or if the court might have bailed him im- 
mediately after the commencement of the term or ses- 
sions. 2. When the law says, It shall and may be 
lawful to bail for felony under particular circum- 
stances, we must presume, that, before the passing 
of that act, it was not lawful to bail under those cir- 
cumstances. The terms used by the legislature are 
enacting, not declaratory. 3. Notwithstanding the 
party may have been imprisoned during the greatest 
part of the vacation, and during the whole session, 
the court are expressly forbidden to bail him, from 
that session to the next, if oath be made that the 
witnesses for the king could not be produced that same 
term or sessions. 

Having faithfully stated the several acts of parlia- 
ment relative to bail in criminal cases, it may be use- 
ful to the reader to take a short historical review o( 
the law of bail, through its various gradations and 
improvements. 

By the ancient common law, before and since the 
conijuest, all felonies were bailable, till murder was 
excepted by statute j so that persons might be ad- 
mitted to bail,' before conviction, almost in every case. 
The statute of Westminster says, that before tii.at 
time, it had not been determined which offences were 
replevisable and which were not, wheth(?r by th« 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 195 

common writ de homine replegiando, or ex officio by 
the sheriff. It is very remarkable, that the abuses 
arising from this unlimited power of replevy, dread- 
ful as they were, and destructive to the peace of soci- 
ety, were not corrected or taken notice of by the 
legislature, until the commons of the kinjrdom hac 
obtained a share in it by their representatives ; bu 
the house of commons had scarce begun to exist, 
when these formidable abuses were corrected by the 
statute of Westminster. It is highly probable, that 
the mischief had been severely felt by the people, 
although no remedy had been provided for it by the 
Norman kings or barons. " The* iniquity of the 
times was so great, as it even forced the subjects to 
forego that, which was in account a great liberty, to 
slop the cause of a growing mischief." Tiie pream- 
ble to the statutes made by the first parliament of 
Edward the First, assigns the reason of calling it,i 
" because the people had been otherwise entreated 
than they ought to be, the peace less kept, the laws 
less used, and offenders less punished than they ought 
to be, by reason whereof ihe people feared less to 
offend ;" and the first attempt to reform these various 
abuses was by contracting the power o^ replevying 
felons. 

For above two centuries following, it does not ap- 
pear that any alteration was made in the law of bail, 
except that being taken with vert or venison was de- 
clared to be equivalent to indictment. Tiie legisla- 



• Selden, by N. Bacon, 182. 
t Parllumevitary History, i. 82. 



196 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

ture adhered firmly to the spirit of ihe statute of 
Westminster. The statute of the 27th of Edward 
the First directs the justices of assize to inquire and 
punish officers bailing such as were not bailable. As 
for the judf^es of the superior courts, it is probable, 
that in those days they thought themselveis bound b^ 
the obvious intent and meaning of the legislature 
They considered not so much to what particular per 
sons the prohibition was addressed, as what the thing 
was which the legislature meant to prohibit ; well 
knowing that in law, quando illiquid prohibc.tur, 
prohihetur et omne per quod devenitur ad illud. 
" When any thing is forbidden, all the means by 
which the same thing may be compassed or done are 
equally forbidden." 

By the statute of Richard thvi Third, the power of 
balling was a little enlarged ; every justice of peace 
was authorised to bail for felony ; but they were ex- 
pressly confined to persons arrested on light suspi- 
cion ; and even this power, so limited, was found to 
produce such inconveniences, that in three years 
after the legislature found it necessary to repeal it. 
Instead of trusting any longer to a single justice of 
peace, the act of 3 Henry VII. repeals the preceding 
act, and directs, " That no prisoner (of those who 
are mainpernable by the law) shall be let to bail or 
mainprixe by less than two justices, whereof one to bt 
of the quorum." 

And so indispensabl}'' necessary was this provisioi 
thought for the administration of justice, and for the 
security and peace of society, that at this time an oath 
WHS pro{)osed by the king, to be taken by the knights 
and e-iquires of his household, by the members of the 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. I97 

ifiouse of commons, and by the peers spiritual and 
temporal, and accepted and sworn to quasi una voce 
by them all, which, among other engagements, binds 
them not to let any man to bail or mainprise, " know- 
ing and deeming him to be a felon, upon your honour 
and worship. So help you God and all saints."* 

In about half a century, however, even these pro- 
visions were found insufficient. The act of Henrv the 
Seventh was evaded and the legislature once more 
obliged to interpose. The act of 1 and 2 of Philip 
and Mary takes away entirely from the justices all 
power of bailing for offences declared not bailable by 
the statute of Westminster 

TIk; illegal imprisonment of several persons, who 
had refused to contribute to a loan exacted by Charles 
the First, and the delay of the habeas corpus, and 
subsequent refusal to bail them, constituted one of 
the first and most important grievances of that reign. 
Yet when the house of commons, which met in the 
year 1628, resolved upon measures of the most firnr. 
and strenuous resistance to the power of imprison- 
ment, assumed by the king or privy council, and to 
the refusal to bail the party on the return of the ha- 
beas corpus ; they did expressly, in all their resolu- 
tions, make an exception of commitments, where the 
cause of the restraint was expressed, and did by law 
justify the commitment. The reason of the distinc- 
tion is, that whereas,, when the cause of commitment 
is expressed, the crime is then known, and the offen- 
der must be brought to the ordinary trial : if, on the 



* Purliaineutary History, ii. 5iy. 



i'J8 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

contrary, no cause of commitment be expressed, and 
the prisoner be thereupon remanded, it may operate 
to perpetual imprisonment. This contest with Charles 
the First produced the act of the 16th of that king; 
oy which the court of king's bench are directed, 
within three days after the return to the habeas cor- 
pus, to examine and determine the legality of any 
commitment by ttie king or privy council, and to do 
what in justice shall appertain, in delivering, bailing, 
or remanding the prisoner. Now, it seems, it is un- 
necessary for the judge to do what appertains to jus- 
tice. The same scandalous traffic, in which we have 
seen the privilege of parliament exerted or relaxed, 
to gratify the present humour, or to serve the imme- 
diate purpose of the crown, is introduced into the ad- 
ministration of justice. The magistrate, it seems, has 
now no rul« to follow, but the dictates of personal 
enmity, national partiality, or perhaps the most pros 
tituted corruption. 

To complete this historical inquiry, it only remains 
to be observed, that the habeas corpus act of 31 of 
Charles the Second, so justly considered as another 
Magna Charta of the kingdom, " extends* only to 
the case of commitments for such criminal charge as 
can produce no inconvenience to public justice by a 
temporary enlargement of the prisoner." So careful 
were the legislature, at the very moment when they 
were providing for the liberty of the subject, not to 
furnish any colour or pretence for violating or evad- 
"ng the established law of bail in higher criminal of- 



• Blackstone, iv. 137. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. I9U 

rtnces. But t.ie exception, stated in the body of the 
act, puts the matter out of all doubt. After direct- 
ing the judges how they are to proceed to the dis- 
charge of the prisoner upon recognizance and surety, 
having regard to the quality of the prisoner and na- 
ture of the offence, it is expressly added, " unless it 
shall appear to the said lord chancellor, &;c. that the 
party so committed is detained for such matters or 
oflences, for the which, by the law, the prisoner is not 
bailable." 

When the laws, plain of themselves, are thus illus- 
trated by facts, and their uniform meaning establish- 
ed by history, we do not want the authority of opin- 
ions, however respectable, to inform our judgment, or 
to confirm our belief. But I am determined that you 
shall have no escape. Authority of every sort shall 
be produced against you, from Jacob to lord Coke, 
from the dictionary to the classic. In vain shall you 
appeal from those upright judges whom you disdain 
to "mitate, to those whom you have made your exam- 
ple. With one voice they all condemn you. 

" To be taken with the maner, is where a thief, 
having stolen any thing, is taken with the same about 
Jiim, as it were in his hands, which is called /fl^ran^g 
delicto. Such a criminal is not bailable by law." — 
Jacob, under the Wv rd Mancr. 

" Those who are taken with the maner are excluded 
by the statute of Westminster, from the benefit of a 
replevin." — Hawkins, P. C. ii. 98. 

" Of such heinous offences, no one, who is notori- 
ously guilty, seems to be bailable by the intent of this 
statute." — Ditto, i. 99. 

" The common practice and allowed general rule 



200 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

is, that bai. is only then proper, where it stands in* 
dlflerent whether the party were guilty or innocent." 
—-Ditto, ditto. 

" There is no doubt but that the bailing of a per- 
son, who is not bailable by law, is punishable either 
at common law, as a negligent escape, or as an of- 
fence against the several statutes relative to bail." 
— Ditto, 89. 

•' It cannot be doubted, but that neither the judges 
of this, nor of any other superior court of justice, are 
strictly within the purview of that statute ; y-et they 
will alwaj's, in their discretion, pay a due regard to 
it, and not admit a person to bail who is expressly 
declared by it irreplevisable, without some particular 
circumstance in his favour ; and, therefore, it seems 
difficult to find an instance where persons, attainted 
of felony, or notoriously guilty of treason, or man- 
slaughter, &c. by their own confession, or otherwise, 
have been admitted to the benefit of bail, without 
some special motive to the court to grant it." — 
Ditto, 114. 

" If it appears that any man hath injury or wrong 
by his imprisonment, we have power to deliver and 
discharge him ; if otherwise, he is to be remanded by 
us to prison again." — Lord Ch. J. Hyde, State Trials, 
vii. 115. 

" The statute of Westminster was especially for 
direction to the sheriffs and others ; but to say 
courts of justice are excluded from this statute, 1 
coivceive it cannot be." — Attorney General Heath, 
Ditto, 132. 

" The court, upon view ot the return, judgeth of 
the sufficiency or insufficiency of it. If they think 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 20! 

the prisoner in law to be bailable, he is committed 
to the marshal, and bailed ; if not, he is remanded.*' 
Through the whole debate, tlie objection on the 
part of the prisoners wa=, that no cause of coiinnit- 
nient was expressed in the warrant; but it wus iini- 
lormly admitted, by their counsel, that if the cause oi 
commitment had been expressed for treason or felony, 
the court would then have done right in remanding 
them. 

The attorney-general having urged, before a com- 
mittee of both houses, that, in Bcckvvith's case, and 
others, the lords of the council sent a letter to the 
court of king's bench to bail ; it was replied, by the 
managers of the house of connnons, that this was 
of no moment : " for that either the prisoner was 
bailable by the law, or not bailable. If bailable by 
the law, then he was to be bailed without any such 
letter ; if not bailable by the law, then plainly the 
judges could not have bailed him upon the letter, 
without breach of their oath, whicii is, that they are 
lo Qo justice according to the law," fee. — State 
Trials, vii. 175. 

" So that in bailing upon such offences of the 
highest nature, a kind of discretion, rather than a 
constant law, hath been exercised, when it stands 
wholly indifferent, in the eye of the court, whether 
the prisoner be guilty or not." — Selden, St. Tr. vii. 
230. 1. 

" J. deny that a man is always bailable when im- 
prisonment is imposed upon him for custody." — 
dttorney General Heath, ditto, 23S. 

IJV these quotations from the State Tr als, though 
otherwise not of authority, it appears plainly, thai 
] 2 



202 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

in rejrairi Id bailable or not bailable, all parties 
agreed in admitting one proposition as incontro- 
vertible. 

" In relation to capital offences, there are especial- 
ly these acts of parliament that are the common land- 
rnarka* touching offences bailable or not bailable."-— 
HaJe, ii. P. C. 127. The enumeration includes thi? 
several acts cited in this paper. 

" Persons taken with the manouvre are nnt baila- 
ble, because it is furtum manifestum." — Ilale^ ii. 
P. C. 133. 

" The writ of Habeas Corpus is of a high nature ; 
for if persons be wrongluUy committed, they are to 
be discharged upon this writ returned; or, if baila- 
ble, they are to bailed : if not bailable, they are to 
be committed." — Hale ii. P. C. 143. This doctrine 
of lord chief justice Hale refers immediately to the 
superior courts from whence the writ issues. " After 
^he return is filed, the court is either to discharge, or 
bail, cr commit him, as the nature of the case re- 
•\uirez/'— Hale, ii. P. C. 146. 

" If bail be granted otherwise than the law allow- 
p.th, the party that alloweth the same shall be fined, 
imprisoned, render damages, or forfeit his place, as 
the case shall require." — Sclden, by JV. Bacon, 182. 

*' This induces an absolute necessity of expressing, 
upon every comn)itment, the reason for which it is 
made ; that the court, upon a Habeas Corpus, may 
examine into its valirlity, and, according to the cir- 



• It has been the study of lord Mansfjeia to remove lanc> 



JLNIUS'S LETTERS. 203 

cumstances of the case, may discharge, .ji.mit to bail 
or remand the prisoner. — Blackstone, iil. 133. 

" IMarriot was :ommitted for forgi'ig- indorsements 
apon bank-bills, and upon a Habeas Corpus was 
bailed, because tne crime was only a great inisdc- 
meanor ; for though the forging the hills be felony, 
yet forging the indorsement is not." — Salkeld, i. 104. 

" Appell de Mahem, &tc. ideo ne fuit lesse a bailie, 
nient pJus que in appell de robbery on murder; qiioci 
nota, et que in robbery et murder le partie n'st bail- 
lable. — Bro. Mainprize, 67. 

" Tlie intendment of the law in bails is, (^uod stat 
indifferenter, whether he be guilty or no ; but when 
lie is convicted by verdict or confession, then he must 
be deemed in law to be guilty of the felony, and 
therefore not bailable at all." — Coke, ii. Inst. 188. 
iv. 178. 

" Bail is quando stat indifferenter, and not when 
the ollence is open and manifest." — 2 Inst. 189. 

" In this case non stat indifferenter, whether he be 
guilty or no, being taken with the maner, that is, 
with the thing stolen, as it were, in his hand." 
Ditto, ditto. 

" If it appeareth that this imprisonment be jusl 
and lawful, he shall be remanded to the former gaol- 
er ; but if it shall appear to the court that he was 
nnprisoned against the law of the land, they ought, 
by force of this statute, to deliver him : if it be 
doubtful, and under consic eration, he may be bail- 
ed."— 2 Inst. 55. 

It is unnecessary to load the reader with any far- 
ther quotations. If these authorities are not deemed 
sufficie.'Jl to establish the doctrine maintained in this 



204 JUNIUS'S LE'lTEKS. 

paper, it will be in vain to appeal to the evidence of 
law books, or llie opinions of judges. Tliey are ntX 
the audiorities by vviiich lord Mansfield \s'A] abide, 
lie assumes an arbitrary power of doing right: and 
if he does wrong, it lies only between God and his 
conscience. 

Now, uiy lord, although I have great faith in the 
preceding argument, I will not say that every minute 
part of it is absolutely invulnerable. I am loo well 
acquainted with the practice of a certain court, di- 
rected by your example, as it is governed by your 
authority, to thiidi there ever yet was an argument, 
however conformable to law and reason, in vvhlc!'. a 
cunning, quibbling attorney might not discover a flaw. 
But, taking tiie whole of it together, 1 aflirm, that it 
constitutes a mass of demonstration, than which 
nothing more complete or satisfactory can be ofl'ered 
to the human mind. How an evasive, indirect reply 
will stand with your reputation, or how far it will an- 
swer in point of defence, at the bar of the house of 
lords, is worth your consideration. If, after all that 
lias been said, it should still be maintained, that the 
court of king's bench, in bailing felons, are exempted 
from all legal rules whatsoever, and that the judge 
has no direction to pursue, but his pt vate affections, 
or mere unquestionable will and pleasure, it will fol- 
low plainly, that the distinction between bailable and 
not bailable, uniforndy expressed by the legislature, 
current through all our law books, and admitted by 
all our great lawyers, without exception, is, ni on€ 
sense, a nugatory, in another, a peru.vious, distinc- 
tion. It is nugatory, as it supposes $ difference in 
\1.«' bailable quality of oflences, whej.j .a effect, the 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 205 

distinction refers only to the rank of the magistrate 
It is pernicious, as it implies a rule of law, winch 
yet the judge is not bound to pay the least regard 
to ; and impresses an idea upon the minds of the 
people, that the judge is wiser and greater than the 

law. 

It remains only to apply the law, thus stated, to the 
fact in question. " By an authentic copy of the rmiti- 
mns, it appears that John Eyre was committed for 
felony, plainly and specially expressed in the warrant 
of c-.s-nnitment. He was cliarged before alderman 
Haiifax, by the oath of Thomas Fielding, William 
Holder, William Payne, and William Nash, for felo- 
niously steaUng eleven quires of writing paper, value 
six shillings, the properly of Thomas Beach, &c. 
By the examinations upon oath of the four persons 
mentioned in the mittimus, it was proved, that large 
quantities of paper had been missed ; and that eleven 
quires (previously marked, from a suspicion that 
Eyre was the thief) were found upon him. Many 
other quires of paper, marked in the same manner, 
were found at his lodgings ; and after he had been 
some time in Wood-street Compter, a key was found 
in his room there, which appeared to be a key to the 
closet at Guildhall, from whence the paper was stolen. 
When asked what he had to say in his defence, his 
only answer was, " 1 hope you will bail me." Mr. 
Holder, the clerk, replied, "That is impossible. 
There never was an instance of it, when the stolen 
goods were foiuid upon the thief." The lord mayor 
was then applied to, and refused to bail him. Ol all 
these circumstances, it was your duty to have inform- 
ed yourself minu ?ly. The fact was lemarkable : 



206 JL^NIUS'S lETTERS. 

and tn? chief magistrate of the city of ijoidon WkS 
known to liaie refused to bail the offender. To jus- 
tify your compliance with the solicitations of your 
three countrymen, it should be proved that such alle- 
gations were offered to you in behalf of their asso- 
ciate, as honestly and hoyia fide reduced it to a mat- 
ter of doubt and indifference whether the prisoner was 
innocent or guilty. Was any thing offered by the 
Scotch triumvirate that tended to invalidate the posi- 
tive charge made against him by four credible wit- 
nesses upon oath ? Was it even insinuated to you, 
either by himself or his bail, that no felony was com- 
mitted ; or, that he was not the felon ; that the stolen 
goods were not found upon him ; or that he was only 
the receiver, not knowing them to be stolen ? Or, in 
short, did they attempt to produce any evidence of 
his insanity ? To all these questions 1 answer for 
you, without the least fear of contradiction, positively, 
No. From the moment he was arrested he never 
entertained any hope of acquittal ; therefore, thought 
of nothing but obtaining bail, that he might have 
time to settle his affairs, convey his fortune into an- 
other country, and spend tlie remainder of his life in 
comfort and afllueuoe abroad. In this prudential 
scheme of future happiness, the lord chief justice of 
England most readily and heartily Cf>ncurre<l. At 
sight of so much virtue in distress, your natural be- 
nevolence took the alarm. Such a man as Mr. Eyre, 
struggKag with adversity, must alwa^'s be an inter- 
estii g scene to lord Mansfield. Or, was it that libe- 
ral anxiety, by which your whole life has been distin 
guis' '"■'i. In enlarge the liberty of the subject.'' M3 
lord, we did not wan this new instance of the liberal- 



RNIUS'S LElTERS. ^^ 

ity of your principles. We already knew what Kind 
of subjects ihey were for whose liberty you were 
anxious. At all events, the public are much nidebted 
to you for Hxing a price, at which felony may be 
committed with impunity. 

■ You bound a felon, notoriously worth 30,000f. in 
llie sum of 300Z. With your natural turn to equity, 
and knowing, as you are, in the doctrine of prece- 
dents, you undoubtedly meant to setih the propor 
tion between the fortune of the felon and the fine 
by which he may compouml for his felony. The 
ratio now upon record, and transmitted to posterity 
under the auspices of lord Mansfield, is exactly one 
to an hundred. IMy lord, without intending it, you 
have laid a cruel restraint upon the genius of your 
countrymen. In the warmest indulgence of their 
passions they have an eye to the expense 1 and if 
iheir other virtues fail us, we have a resource m 
their economy. 

By taking so trifling a security from John Eyre, 
you invited, and manifestly exhorted him to escape. 
Although in bailable cases it be usual to take four 
securities, you left him in the custody of three Scotch- 
men, whom he might have easily satisfied for cor 
niving at his i-etreat. That he did not make use of 
the o'pportunity you industriously gave him, neither 
Justifies your conduct, nor can it be any way account- 
ed for, but by his excessive and monstrous avarice. 
Any other man, but this bosom friend of three Scotch- 
men, would gladl'y have sacrificed a few hundred 
pounds, rather than submit to the infamy of pleading 
guilty in open court. It is possible indeed that he 
might have (littered himself, and not unreasonably 



208 JUNIUS'S letti:k3. 

with the hjpes of a pardon. That he wci\ld have 
been pardoned, seems more than probable, if I had 
not directed the public attention to the leading step 
you took in favour of him. In th^ present gentle 
reign, we well know what use has been made of the 
lenity jf the court, and of the mercy of the crown. 
Tlie lord chief justice of England accepts of the hun- 
dredth part of the property of a felon, taken in the 
fact, as a recognizance for his appearance. Your 
brother Smylhe browbeats a jury, and forces them to 
alter their verdict, by which they had found a Scotch 
sergeant guilty of murder ; and though the Kennedies 
were convicted of a most deliberate and atrocious 
murder, they still had a claim to the royal mercy. 
They were saved by the chastity of their connex- 
ions. They had a sister : yet it was not her beauty, 
but the pHancy of her virtue, that recommended her to 
the king. 

The holy author of our religion was seen in the 
company of sinners ; but it was his gracious purpose 
to convert them from their sins. Another mr\n, who, 
in the ceremonies of our faith, might give lessons to 
the great enemy of it, upon different principles, keeps 
mucii tiie same company. He advertises for patients, 
collects all the diseases of the heart, and turns a royal 
palace into an hospital for incurables. A man of 
honour lias no ticket of admission at St. James's. 
They receive him like a virgin at the Magdalen's ; 
" Go thou, and do likewise " 

My charge against you is now made good. I shall, 
however, be ready to answer or to submit to fair ob- 
ections. If, whenever this matter shall be agitated 
yon suffer the doors of he house of ord? .o be shut 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 209 

1 now protest, that I shall consider you us having 
made no reply, i rom that moment, in tiie opinion 
of the world, you will stand self convicted. Whether 
your reply be quibbling and evasive, or liberal and 
in point, will be matter for the judgment of your 
peers ; but if, when every possible idea of disrespect 
to that noble house (in whose honour and justice the 
nation implicitly confides) is here most solemnly dis- 
claimed, you should endeavour to represent this 
charge as a contempt of their authority, and move 
their lordships to censure the publisher of this paper, 
I then affirm, that yon support mjustice by violence, 
that you are guilty of a heinoui aggravation of your 
ofTence, and that you contribute your utmost in- 
fluence to promote, on the part of '.lie highest court 
of judicature, a positive denial of justice to th' 
tvution. 

JUMUP 



LXVIiS. 



To the Right Honourable Lord Camden. 



MY LORD, 

I turn with pleasure from that barren waste in 
which no salutary plant takes root, no verdure quick- 
ens, to a character fertile, as 1 willingly believe, in 
•very great and good qualification. I call upon you, 
rtx the name of the English nation, to stand forth ir. 
defence of the laws of ^our country, and to exert, in 
ihe cause of truth and jus cc, those great abilities 

14 



210 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

with which you were entrusted for the benefit of man- 
kind. To ascertain the facts set forth in the preced- 
ing paper, it may be necessary to call the persons 
mentioned in the mittimus to the bar of the house ol 
iord«. If a motlou for that purpose should be reject- 
ed, we shall know what to think of lord Mansfield's 
innocence. The legal argument is submitted to your 
lordship's judgment. After the noble stand you made 
against lord Mansfield upon the question of libel, we 
did expect that you would not have iuffered that mat- 
ter to have remained undetermined. But it was said 
that lord chief justice Wilruot had been prevailed 
upon ':o vouch for an op'nion of the late judge Yates, 
which was supposed to make against you ; and we 
admit of the excuse. When such detestable arts are 
employed to prejudge a question of right, it might 
have been imprudent at that time to have brought it 
to a decision. In the present instance, you will iiave 
no such opposition to contend with. If there be a 
judge, or a lawyer, of any note in Westminster-hall, 
who shall be daring enough to affirm that, according 
to the true intendment of the laws of England, a 
felon, taken with the maner in flagrante delict , is 
bailable, or that the discretion of an English judge 
is merely arbitrary, and not governed by rules of law, 
I should be ghid to be acquainted with him. Who- 
ever he be, 1 will take care tliat he shall not give 
you much trouble. Your lordship's character as- 
sures me thai you will assume that principal part, 
which belongs to you, in supporting the laws of Eiig- 
land against a wicked judge, who makes it the occu- 
pation of his life to misinterpret and pervert them. U 
you decline this honourable office, I fear it will b« 



JUMUS'S LETTERS. £1J 

laid, that, for some months past, you have kept too 
much company with the duke of Grafton. When the 
contest turns upon the interpretation of the .aws, you 
cannot, without a formal surrender of all your repu- 
tation, yield the post of honour even to lord Chat- 
ham. Considering the situation and abilities of lord 
Mansfield, I do not scruple to affirm, with the most 
solemn appeal to God for my sincerity, that, in my 
judgment, he is the very worst and most dangerous 
man in the kingdom. Tiius far I have done my duty 
in endeavouring to bring him to punishment. But 
mine is an inferior ministerial office in the temple ol 
justice : I have bound the victim, and dragged him to 
the altar. 

JUNIUS. 



The reverend Mr. Joini Home having, with his 
usual veracity, and honest industry, circulated a re- 
port that Junius, in \ letter to the supporters of the 
bill of rights, had warmly declared himself in favour 
of long parliaments and rotten boroughs, it is thought 
flecessary to submit to the public the following ex- 
tract from his letter to John Wilkes, esq. dated the 
7th of September, 1771, and latd before the society 
on tne 24th of the same month. 

" With regard to the several articles, taken sepa- 
rately, 1 own I am concerned to see that the great 
condition which ought to be the sine qua nou of par- 
liamentary qualification, which ought to be the basis 
(as il assuredly will be the only support) of every 



212 JUNIUS'S LETTCKS. 

barrier raised in deiince of die constitution, (I mean 
a declaration upon oath to shorten the duration oi 
parliam-^nts) is reduced to the fourth rank in the es- 
teem of the society; and even in that place, far from 
being insisted on witli firmness and vehemence, seems 
to have been pariicularly slighted in the expression 
" You shall endeavour to restore annual parliaments.' 
Are these the terms which men who are in earnest 
make use of, when the salus reipublicce U at stake r 
I expected other language from Mr. Wilkes, He- 
sides my objectioji in point of form, 1 disapprove 
highly of the meaning of the fourth article as it stands. 
Whenever the question shall be seriously agitated, i 
will endeavour (and if I live, will assuredly attemjjt 
it) to convince the English nation by arguments, to 
my understanding unanswerable, that they ought to 
insist upon a triennial, and banish the idea of an an- 
nual parliament. * * * I am convinced, that if 
shortening the duration of parliaments (which, in 
effect, is keeping the representative under the rod of 
the constituent) be not made the basis of our new 
parliamentary jurisprudence, other checks or im- 
provements signify nothing. On the contrary, if 
this be made the foundation, other measures may come 
in aid, and, as auxiliaries, be of considerable advan- 
tage. Lord Chatham's project, for instance, of in- 
creasing the number,of knights of shires, appears to 
me admirable. * * * As to cutting away the rotten 
boroughs, I am as much offended as any man at see- 
ing so many of them under the direct influence of the 
crown, or at the disposal of private persons. Yet, I 
own, I have both doubts and apprehensions in regard 
to the remedy you propose. I shall be charged. 



JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 213 

perhaps, with an unusual want of political intrepiiity, 
whou I honestly confess to you, that 1 am startled at 
the idea of so extensive an amputation. In the first 
place, I question ^e power, at jV/e, of the legisla- 
ture to disfranchise a number of boroughs upon the 
general ground of improving the constitution. There 
cannot be a doctrine more fatal to the liberty and 
Droperty we are contending for, than that which con- 
founds the idea of a supreme and an arbitrary legis- 
lature. I need not point out to you the fatal purpo- 
ses to which it has been, and may be, applied. If we 
are sincere in the political creed Ave profess, there are 
many things which we ought to affirm, cannot be 
done by kings, lords, and commons. Among these, 
I reckon the disfranchising of boroughs, with a gene- 
ral view of improvement, i consider it as an equiva- 
lent to robbing the parties concerned of their free- 
hold, of their birthright. I say, that although this 
birthright may be forfeited, or the exercise of it 
suspended in particular cases, it cannot be taken 
away by a general law, for any real or intended 
purpose of improving the constitution. — Supposing 
the attempt made, I am persuaded you cannot mean 
that either king or lords should take an active part 
in it. A bill which only touches the representation 
of the people, must originate, in the house of com- 
mons. In the formation and mode of passing it, the 
exclusive right of the commons must be asserted aa 
scrupulously as in the case of a money bill. Now, 
sir, I should be glad to know by what kind of rea- 
soning it can be proved, that there is a power vested 
in the representative to destroy his immediate con- 
Btituent. From whence could he possibly derive iti 



il4 JUNIUS'S LETTERS. 

A courtier, I know, will be ready to maintain the af 
firmative. The doctrine suits him exactly, becaust 
It gives an unlimited operation to the inlluence of (lie 
crown. But we, Mr. Wilkes, ofught to hold a differ- 
ent language. It is no answer to me to say, that the 
bill, when it passes the house of commons, is the act 
of the majority, and not the representatives of the 
particular boroughs concerned. If the majority can 
disfranchise ten boroughs, why not twenty, why not 
the whole kingdom ? Why should not they make 
their own seats in parliament for life .'' When the 
septennial act passed, the legislature did what, appa- 
rently and palpably, they had no power to do: but 
they did more than people in general were aware of; 
tliey, in effect, disfranchised the whole kingdom for 
four years. 

" For argument's sake, I will now suppose that the 
expediency of the measure, and the power of parlia- 
ment, are unquestionable. Still you will find an in- 
surmountable difficulty in the execution. When all 
your instruments of amputation are prepared, when 
the utihappy patient lies bound at your feet, without 
the possibility of resistance, by what infallible rule 
\fill you direct the operation ? When you propose 
to cut away the rotten parts, can you tell us what 
parts are perfectly sound f Are there any certain 
limits in fact or theory, to inform you at what point 
you must stop, at what point the mortification ends .'' 
To a man so capable of observation and reflection 
as you are, it is unnecessary to say all that might be 
said upon the subject. Besides that I approve highly 
of lord Chatham's idea of infusing a portion of new 
health into the constitution, to enable it to 'lear ita 



jarsrus's letters. 21* 

i'.5nnit:« (a brilliant expression, and full oi intrinsic 
Risdom) other reasons occur in persuading me to 
Adopt it. I have no objection," iic. 

The man who fairly and completely answers this 
ftrg:ument, shall have my thanks and my applause 
My heart is already with hiui. I aui ready to be 
converted. 1 admire his morality, and v.ould gladly 
subscribe to the articles of his faith. Grateful a? i 
am, to the good Being whose bounty '.las imparted 
to me this reasoning intellect, whatever it is, I hold 
myself proportioiiably indebted to blm from whosp 
enlightened understanding another ray of knowledge 
communicates to miae. But neither should I think 
the most exalted faculties of the human mind a gift 
worthy of the Divinity, nor any assistance in the 
improvement of them a subject of gratitude to ray 
>ellow creature, if I were not satisfied, that, really 
lo mform the understar ding, corrects and enlarges th« 

aeart, 

JUNIUS 



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